The Lost Heart and the Broken Soul
by Mara Gin
Summary: Two sisters are looking for a new beginning and end up coming into FMA but then tragedy hits when the oldest is killed and an eight year old girl is left all alone. Fate is either cruel or kind when Dante takes her in for her own purposes and forces Envy to become her warden. Will Envy kill her or will he grow to bond with his new pest, and maybe something more than that? Envy x OC
1. Chapter 1

Hello this is my first crack at making a FMA story. Sorry no FMA Brotherhood here. As well I own nothing in this story except its orginality and the OCs. Please be nice and don't flame.

* * *

Prologue:

I never wanted this, any of it. I was never one to seek adventure, or to follow my dreams and fulfill the desires of my heart. I was too much of a coward for anything like that. I was too weak, too simple, and much too naïve. So then, who would have ever imagined that it would turn out like this?

My life?

In shambles.

My past?

Too bleak to try to remember fully.

My Future?

Well, its will be pretty much non-existent by tomorrow morning. Though, I'm getting far too ahead of myself, let me start at the beginning. My beginning was her beginning and likewise our new beginning, but at the same time it was…

Our ending…

Her ending…

And the beginning of my ending too.

* * *

Chapter one: The beginning

"This is it this is the answer to all of our problems!"

"Are you sure about this big sister?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't be letting you do this with me if I wasn't."

"O-ok"

The older girl grinned crookedly in assurance at her timid baby sister.

"I promise everything will be alright. K?"

The younger sister smiled softly at her big sister.

"I trust you" The younger brunette nodded as she began to help with finishing the last preparations on their masterpiece that was now painted on their living room floor.

Well, _she_ thought it was a masterpiece, her big sister not so much.

Then again she was the best artist in their little family, so what did her big sister know about art anyways?

The little girl giggled and began humming as she carefully painted the complicated runes around the array of circles, and the funny little symbols that followed in after them.

Her favorite part was the picture of the sun that she had drawn all by herself. It was so pretty! The little girl giggled again in happiness as she continued.

"Hey what's so funny over there?"

"Nothing" The little girl laughed as her sibling sighed in pretend annoyance and tossed her hands up into the air.

"Now, now, how are we supposed to get any work done if you keep giggling and painting pretty little fairies and rainbows all night?" She chastised lightly as she pointed her own paintbrush towards her now pouting little sister.

"Hey! I do NOT like that stupid stuff! That stuff is dumb and for little kids" She whined as she huffed and turned away from her older sister's teasing.

"Ya ya, like you still wouldn't like that stuff, and you're _still_ a little kid just so you know." The teenager grinned like a Cheshire cat as she watched her sister fume.

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Um, ya you kind of are."

"No I'm not, I'm eight now!" The little girl cried as she stomped her foot on the ground, holding her hands on her tiny hips.

"Yes and I'm seventeen. Who do you think is more adult here?" The oldest grinned slyly.

"Well, It certainly isn't you" The larger of the siblings twitched in controlled annoyance before her grin quickly grew.

"Hmm, I guess you right August, you just were just born an old woman then" August's triumph smirk fell just as quickly as it came before she began glaring at her clever older sibling.

"You can be so mean sometimes June"

"With pleasure" June winked slyly before becoming serious all over again.

"Are we all set than?" August nodded as worry began to seep into her delicate little features again.

She stood and moved towards her big sister, being careful not to smudge any of their artwork. The siblings kneeled down together on the cold wooden floor of their home as they stared at their creation.

June smirked excitedly as she slowly clasped her hands together; a spark of hopeful fire could be seen burning brightly in her deep emerald colored eyes. Before she could place her anxious hands onto the wood floor she felt her sister's small, warm, little hands grip her own.

June looked up, slightly frustrated with her worried little sister before instantly softening at the petrified look on her dearest baby sister's face.

"Big sister…I'm scared. W-what if this doesn't work? Then what? What will happen to us?" June's facial features suddenly turned stony as she seemed to stare off for a moment before smiling down at her little sister.

"Don't worry about it." She smiled wider as she ruffed August's chestnut colored mane, making it even wilder than before, if that were even possible. August groaned miserably as she tried in vain to comb out her wild mane of waving locks.

"Have a little faith in you big sister will you?" June winked as August huffed and gave up on her hair.

"I hate it when you do that, but fine…I trust you June-bug" June snorted down at her little sister in amusement.

"And I hate it when you call me that my little August-Rush". The younger girl growled slightly but reluctantly let go of her older sibling's hands.

June then calmly closed her eyes as she clapped once more with more vigor while her younger sister copied faithfully. The sound echoed oddly in the empty house and against August's eardrums as she gulped.

Softly both siblings placed their hands atop the strange symbol ridden circle and then atop one another as a soft light penetrated the room. The light grew harsher and both sisters could hear the howling gust of strong winds, though they were well aware they were indoors, and the crackling of electricity as an unregistered power crackled in the air.

August clenched her teeth in fear as June smiled softly praying to any God out there that this would be the answer they had been looking for. The light grew brighter, the wind blew harder, and the room seemed to spin wildly out of control before drowning out the frames of the kneeling children in a fantastically bright inferno.

The window panes on the rickety old home shook violently as an impossibly bright light shone through the glass frames and then shattered them as a loud gust of wind drowned out the screams of the two people inside.

Suddenly, all went dead silent.

Nothing stirred and the bright light and strange winds had disappeared as soon as they had come, leaving nothing but an old abandoned rickety house with a few shattered windows.

* * *

The wind rustling through the trees would be the first thing anyone would have heard as a storm began to make its way over the quiet forest on the outskirts of Dublith. The scurrying of various animals and the hiss of the wind told all who had dared entered the forest at this time to turn back now. Deep in that same foreboding forest a large mansion stood, unperturbed by the noisy wind and draped in shadows. Dante sat by one of the many large windows as she watched the storm brew overhead. She sat there as she listened to the howling wind just outside her manor ravage the forest surrounding her home.

"Hmm, what is this then?" The kind looking, old woman, questioned as she leaned forward in her chair slightly before slowly opening her aging squinted eyes.

A few seconds later the wind suddenly stopped completely and everything went dead silent as the forest seemed to be holding its breath for something.

The forest creatures ceased their racket and the thunder paused as Dante watched patiently though intensely as she waited for the source of the reaction to makes itself known. She wasn't disappointed.

Only a few seconds passed before a soundless explosion rocketed across the forest and a bright blue pillar of light shot up into the thundering heavens and split the sky. Bolts of oddly colored lighting shot through the stormy sky as the clouds above began to roar like a wounded and enraged beast. As soon as the spectacular light show began it was over, leaving the only sound to be heard for miles was the pounding of rain as it cascaded from the silenced heavens.

Dante observed this for a few more moments before turning to the two shadowed figures behind. The old woman slowly smiled and the shorter squatter of the two figures shuddered before hiding behind his more impressively shapely companion with a low fearful whine. The smile grew slightly as her squinted eyes opened fully to revile a sinister glare that could chill the hearts of the dead.

"Lust, Gluttony" She addressed them and they both moved closer and kneeled before the old woman, who in truth was far older than she seemed.

"I want you both to investigate the source of that strange pillar of light and report anything you find to me immediately." Lust slowly raised her head as she watched her master blankly though inwardly wary.

"Master, was that pillar of light some form of alchemy?" The female sin's velvet voice poured out from her mouth as she spoke, no emotions seemed to prevent in her voice or manners. Dante chuckled softly as she turned back towards the window.

"That was a very stupid question indeed. Of course it was why on earth would I send you two to investigate if it wasn't? Now…" Dante mused as she placed a wheatear hand over a small crack in her elaborate window frame and in a small spark of alchemy it disappeared. She turned slightly to eye the two of her servants from over her shoulder as she continued to smile an innocent old woman's smile.

"I would hurry if I were you two now, my patience is short." The two shadowed sins nodded obediently as they merged into the shadows and quickly slipped out of the mansion in haste. Dante continued to smile as she felt her loyal minions vanished into the dead of night within the forest before her placid smile twisted into a sinister sneer as she resumed her sitting place near the window.

"What a lovely predicament, and to think that those foolish alchemist would learn from their mistakes the first time".

Dante, the master of the homunculi, and a self-proclaimed immortal, simply stared smugly as she slowly brought a saucer of cooled lemon tea to her lips, already knowing just what kind of transmutation had just transpired.

* * *

Wetness was the first sensation that little August felt as she slowly opened her burning eyes to the pouring clouds above. At first the child could do nothing but lie in the grass as the cold rain continued to pelt her small form. August sighed in relief as the cold droplets made contact with her skin, and cooling the burning sensation she could have sworn she had felt scorching her body just minutes before. After another couple of seconds the young girl looked around for her sister and found her laying a few small stone throws away from her.

"Big Sister wake up please! Big Sister where are we and what's going on! Big Sister I'm scared please get up!"

The little child begged as a flood of questions she just could not control came rushing out her small mouth as she shook her sister none to gently by the shoulders. June growled from her possession on the damp forest floor before wearily opening her shinning green eyes and attempting to sit up.

"W-what the…" She slurred out as August tackled her to the ground once more, shouting out obscure things and blabbering about where they were.

"Maybe we got knocked out by that light and kidnapped by some drug dealers for ransom!"

"August-"

"Maybe we were enchanted by evil wood pixies and they took us out here to become one of them and join their evil race of children snaring pixies forever!"

"Aug…"

"Oh, maybe this is all some crazy inception shit and this forest that we think is a forest isn't really a forest at all but a dream we are dreaming at home, and home could be another dream too, which could have another dream in another dream, and then again and again and again until we all figure out that we are all living in a parallel universe controlled by robots! Then maybe we would- Ah!"

The little child screeched as she spun around in circles frantically before falling comically on her face after tripping over her sister's oh so conveniently out stretched foot.

"August shut up" June spoke gravely as she stood and looked around, in shocked and awe. The little girl growled as she lifted herself out of the dirt and she too began to look around through the rain in awe.

"I-I-I did it…" June finally spoke disrupting the silence as she stared blankly at the forest before looking down at the ground beneath their feet. August too looked down at their feet and gasped.

"Big sister look at that, it's the same transmu-whateveryoucall circle we made at home. Suddenly the teenage June smiled to the sky and without warning scooped her baby sister into her arms and swung her around like a rag doll.

"We did it August, this is it! This is our new home…" June kept laughing as she crushed her baby sister to her chest. August whined as she felt her face turning blue.

"Ah A-air!"

"Oh right" June chuckled as she quickly released her death grip on the oxygen deprived child in her arms. August groaned as she leaned back in her sister's arms and began gasping for air like a fish out of water.

"*Gasp*what do you mean June bug? *Gasp* what is going on?" August whimpered in fear and shock as she regained her breath.

The oldest sibling sighed as she fell to her knees and gently placed August back on the ground. August blinked in confusion as her big sister looked her firmly in her eyes and then before she knew it, June was hugging her again. Little August clutched her big sister's shoulders as she buried her face in the soft dark ebony hair the cascaded down to the teenager's waist.

"August, I was able to send us to a very special place, a place that won't haunt us, and a place that we can finally forge our own lives in. We are in a country called Amestris now." August reeled back in shock as gaped at her big sister, believing all of this to be all some mean joke. June chuckled softly at the flabbergasted look on her little sister's face.

"W-what, isn't that the funny place in all those funny Japanese books you like to read?! How is this even possible big sister!?" August cried frantically as she waved her arms about. June pinched the bridge of her nose before pulling her frantic little sister into an embrace.

"Calm down already!" She snapped as August continued to rant for a few more minutes before suddenly stopping and sagging against her big sister's bony shoulder. June felt a wetness there that had nothing to do with the rain and she sighed as she stroked her small sibling's equally chestnut hair. August hiccupped as she dried her eyes with her little fists.

"We're not going home anymore are we big sister?" June tightened her hold on her trembling baby sister. "Yes August, we don't have to go back there anymore. We never have to see that terrible old man ever again." August sniffed slightly.

"Do you think he will be sad?" June snorted loudly.

"He…that man…no August, I don't think so. It's just you and me from now on baby sis." August wisely clamped her mouth shut as she felt her sister baling up her fists behind her back.

"Ok June, but…um, what are we going to do? Where are we going to go?"

"Well judging by the forest we are in, we can be in a number of places, hopefully we're someplace near Resembool or Dublith. So let's start walking due north and we should we a path or something ok?" June smiled down at her baby sister as she felt her sister's hand take a hold of her own. August smirked confidently at her older sibling as she nodded vigorously.

"Alright big sis, let's do this!" her smirked widened as she took off laughing maniacally through the clearing all the while clutching her eldest sister's larger hand. June laughed as well at her sister's antics before they both darted off into the unknown woods, leaving behind a still smoking and charred clearing, as well as two shadowed figures that had stood there all the while, blended in with the trees.

One of the figures slowly stepped out from behind the trees and stepped into the clearing as they observed the damaged clearing. The second shorter figure came stumbling out after them.

"Oh please Lust couldn't I just have had a quick bite. The little one looked so tasty!" Gluttony whined as he sucked on his finger disappointedly.

"No Gluttony, we have to report of those two children to our Master. She might consider them important seeing as they did all of this damage." The lustful sin smirked as she kept her arms crossed over her breasts.

"Come Gluttony" She called softly after her stubby companion as she began to saunter away. Gluttony stared blankly around at the massive amount of destruction done to the still smoldering clearing before he heard his stomach let out a pitiful growl.

"B-but LLLust I'm still hungry" The insatiably hungry sin whined as he stumbled after his favorite person in the world to go report back to their master.

* * *

End. Whew...so hope you enjoy and constructive critizim is welcome as well as reviews.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey I'm back for round two! Here you go!

* * *

Chapter two: The little lost forest girl

"But JJJune I'm Hungryyy!" A little August whined as she swayed in her spot before exaggeratedly falling onto the floor. June frowned as she passed her crumpled drama queen of a sister, though not before kicking her with a little extra force on her backside.

"Get up stupid; we have a ways to go."

"Ow that hurt you jerk!" The little girl whined as she picked herself off the floor and took a running leap and landed squarely onto her older sister's back.

June grunted before catching her balance and groaned but none the less continued to give her short, lithe, sister a piggy back ride. All had been relatively silent as they traveled for a short while through the dense forest.

The storm clouds had continued to roll in ahead blocking a real light source, so the two siblings couldn't even tell if it were day or night. Regardless the two continued to trek on that was until August became restless and began to whine about food.

"Oh alright, alright, we will stop and rest for a little bit-FINALLY!" August cheered, cutting off her big sister. June gave her the evil eye.

"He he he, sorry?" August sweat dropped.

"Not good enough, now you're in charge of finding some berries or something while I will try and build a fire over here" June smirked as she pointed to a dry patch of grass that had been sheltered from the falling rain by two fallen trees that had toppled over each other and had formed a makeshift arch of sorts.

"But that's not fair! What if the berries are different here then they are back home? What if they are all poisonous?" She exclaimed as she threw a twig in the distance. June smirked slyly.

"Then eat one and find out if they are or not" June grin teasingly as she ducked at a well aimed stick aimed at her eye.

"You can be such a jerk sometimes June" August huffed as she began to mutter a few choice words and stormed off into the nearby forest foliage.

"Don't go too far, because I heard that those evil fairies you're obsessed with just love to snatch up little girls that get lost in a forest!" She yelled out mockingly as she watched her little sister wander farther away.

"Oh shut it!" The fuming child screamed back. June studied the direction in which her baby sister had stumbled off into and smiled uneasily to herself.

"She will be fine. She's only going to be gone for a couple minutes until she does something dumb like scrapping her knees or screaming about evil pixies again or something stupid like that." June smiled softly to herself at her sister's over active imagination. Though her musings did nothing for the growing unease in her stomach, if anything it only grew worse.

* * *

"Are you sure then Lust?"

"Yes Master, two children had simply appeared inside of a large alchemic circle in a clearing just south of here." The female sin spoke as she found herself bowing yet again before the weathered old shell that her master was currently residing in.

"Well then, that's quite a tale." Dante closed her eyes for a moment, though it was hard to tell regardless seeing as her eyes seemed to always be closed, and took another moment before speaking another command for her loyal homunculi to fulfill.

"Lust, Gluttony…" She called for their attention. Lust stood and watched her master warily as Gluttony copied his companion with an added whine.

"Find and bring these mysterious children here, I wish to see them for myself" They both turned and left but before they could step out of the door Dante called out once more.

"Envy should be returning from a mission soon as well so he will accompany you're search soon. Now go." The only sound that could be heard in reply was the sound of Dante's robes as she turned to see the door had been closed soundlessly behind them.

"…and don't fail me."

The sound of the pitter patter of the rain drops falling upon the tree leaves engulfed the forest as the little girl continued her search. She began humming a nameless tune as she continued looking for anything editable for her and her big sister.

Suddenly a low growl caught August off guard and she whirled around frantically, looking for the animal response for the noise. The growling began again and little August blinked owlishly before realizing something.

"I know I know already just shut and wait just a bit longer would you?" She groaned as she clutched her aching stomach. It rumbled again in response and the little girl sighed.

"Big Sister you better have that fire ready by the time I get back." She whined as she looked down at the fruits of her labors.

A few cups of berries that she was sure were edible, as she had watched some animals eating them before hand, a few roots she had learned to cook in girl scouts, and best of all she had the great grace to stumble across a fruit tree that had just a couple apples she could reach. She grinned cheekily at the food in her arms before placing it into the makeshift basket she created with her sister's overly sized, white, T-shirt.

"Alright let's get back so we can finally eat!" The little girl to no one in particular as she snuck through the little path she had created for herself, back to her big sister.

She giggled slightly imagining that this was what it felt to be a ninja or a secret agent or something like that. Finally seeing a light just a couple dozen feet away she grinned smugly as she readied herself to gloat in her big sister's face.

She stopped suddenly as she realized that she could hear more than one voice. As quietly as she could, August crept up towards the fire and crouched under some bushes and began to crawl. The tight knot in her stomach seemed to grow tighter with every inch she moved until August felt as if her stomach would rip itself apart.

The little girl crept closer as she could make out around six new voices, all of them deep and gruff. They didn't sound friendly to August at all, but what truly scared little August was the voice of her big sister among them.

It didn't sound like June at all, it sounded like a wounded animal caught in a trap. Her voice sounded hoarse, broken, and scared, nothing like how August knew her sister's voice to be, confident, loud, and a little bit cocky. August gulped as she slowly pushed aside a few more branches to see what had happened. August gasped loudly, completely terrified at the scene before her.

Seven people were around a little fire underneath the two fallen trees, all of them holding some kind of weapon, either a wooden bat, a rusted crowbar, or a shining gun, and they all reeked terribly and were gigantic, or at least in August's opinion they were. Right in the middle of all of them, next to the small fire was a kneeling figure, with their hands sprawled out before them to support themselves, and long tattered ebony hair that shielded their face like a black waterfall.

Seeing her big sister in that position terrified August, but what truly horrified her was to the streams of blood spilling from her sibling's body as she lifted her head slightly and coughed up a thick wall of dark blood.

June tried to stand but one of the men simply knocked her back down with one of their clubs and taunted her as she fell to the floor again.

"Aw come on girly, why did you have to be so difficult?" He jeered as the man kicker her harshly in the ribs.

June coughed up blood again as she groaned and rolled away from the men's faces and her eyes widen unbelievably so.

August's tearful, wild; mint green orbs locked onto her sister's fading emerald eyes and the world seemed to pause in the moment.

June narrowed her eyes before smiling so painfully that it made tears instantly spring to August's eyes as she heard her beloved big sister whisper something.

"It's ok, it will b-be ok, please trust me m-my little A-August R-R-Rush" She shuddered out as blood continued to flood her mouth. August couldn't stop shaking, but somehow managed to whisper back as well.

"I-I w-will a-always trust-t you J-J-June B-Bug" Little August sobbed quietly as she watched her big sister smile warmly at her. Suddenly a click could be heard as one of the men pointed a gun towards June's forehead.

"Hey! Who the hell are you whispering too?!"He growled as he cocked the gun further at the beaten and dying girl before him. June turned her attention to the disgusting man before smirking as she remained quiet.

"Well, who is out there?!" He growled as he crouched down next to her and placed the cool steal on her forehead. The man peered into bushes and growled when he couldn't find anything.

"Hey you two, let the dogs sniff out if there is a rat in the bushes!" He barked as two more men came up, each holding onto two vicious looking dogs attached to chains. August's heart stopped beating for fraction of a second as all this happened. She knew that both her and her sister where done for.

August shut her eyes as tears poured over her face as she waited for her death.

Suddenly something exploded from the bushes as one of the men screamed in agony and other before they both went deathly silent. Both sisters snapped their eyes open as they turned to the source of the disturbance.

June gasped before gurgling on her blood and August couldn't contain herself any longer as she screamed in terror.

One of the men was dangling in midair were two sharp black spears had run him through in the head and gut. The other man was nowhere to be seen except for his leg that currently dangling from the mouth of an extreme pouty, bald, man as he sucked on the limb. In one gulp the short man swallowed the leg whole and smiled as he rocked back and forth on his heels and giggled.

"Now now is that any way to treat a lady?" A silky voice questioned as an immensely curvy woman slowly stepped out from behind the impaled man. August chocked on her tears as she realized that the curvy woman had run her fingers through the man. The fat, bald, man sniffed the air before grinning savagely as he looked around the campsite.

"Ah, so many, so many humans, can eat them Lust, can I, can I, can I?!"He whined like a starving little child as he bounced up and down. The woman smirked as she retracted her fingers and the man fell lifeless to the ground.

"Yes Gluttony, you may eat them all except for the children." With that, the small fat man screamed wildly as he jumped up high into the air, as if he weighed nothing at all, and attacked the crowd of terrified bandits.

They all screamed in terror as some shot at the cannibal man while others simply ran away as fast as they could, only to get cut down by the beautiful creature's elongated spear-like fingers as she circled the outside of the camp.

The man above June stood frozen, his gun pointed down at her still as he clutched it as if it were a life line. June watched terrified out of her mind before seeing her chance and using what amount of strength she had left to kick the man as hard as she could where the sun doesn't shine.

He gasped in pain and kneeled over but didn't let go of the gun as June tackled him and they began fighting for the weapon. Without realizing it herself August had shot out of the bushes and began running to her sister.

It happened too fast for August realize, between the slaughter going on around her and her sister fighting with that man for the gun, August couldn't see nor hear much of anything, but that one gunshot she heard perfectly clear.

August stood rooted to the spot as she watched her big sister stop struggling and then fall lifelessly to the floor in a spray of blood.

Her spring green eyes were half way open and hazy with death as the hole in the center of her forehead oozed out a thick stream of rushing blood. August could do nothing but stand there shaking as she started at June's body and the slowly growing black puddle expanding underneath her.

Suddenly she caught movement from the corner of her eye and spun around just in time to see the man responsible running off into the forest while holding his left eye as it bled. Everything passed in slow motion again as August caught the gaze of the man who had just murdered her sister.

A lone angry yet wild, brown eye glared harshly at her and August felt her heart stop and her blood run cold. Suddenly the man turned on his heel and disappeared without a trace into the woods. August could only gap and then looked back to her sister before slowly beginning to walk towards her.

Suddenly a loud growl made the little girl pause and gasp as she slowly turned around. The two dogs that had been previously held by their masters were now loose and were snarling ferociously at the little girl before them. August took one step back and then another as she watched the dogs stalk her every move.

Glancing down she realized why the dogs wanted to attack her as she realized that her clothes flecked with her sister's blood and her feet were drenched in it as well. Glancing up she was just in time to see one of the burly dog's coil its muscles and spring up into the air above her with its jaws open wide.

Narrowly missing the dog's glistening canines as she ducked, August screamed loudly as she sprinted away, back into the forest, as the dogs chased after her.

* * *

The wind was barely a whisper through the trees by the time the loud commotion had finally died down around the pitiful excuse for a camp. Loud thumps and the sound of flesh being torn from bones were the only other sounds Lust could hear as she looked around the wasted campsite for the children she was ordered to retrieve. She frowned after a moment as she stalked over to a particular body as Gluttony finished his meal. He waddled up to Lust with a clueless yet semi-satisfied expression on his face.

"Oh? I missed one. Lust can I eat that one too? Can I? Please?" Gluttony whined as he leaned over the body sniffing it.

"No Gluttony this was one of the children we were sent to retrieve" Lust spoke calmly as she observed the fallen child's features.

"My my, and such a pretty face too, such as shame." She spoke as Gluttony whined fearfully.

"Oh no Lust master will be angry with us." Lust frowned for a moment longer before looking back at the forest behind them.

"Not if we can find the other child. Come Gluttony, leave it alone and let's go." Lust ordered as she began to walk away from the all that remained from the carnage that took place there not just a few moments ago. Gluttony whined once more before following his female companion into the woods once more.

The wind suddenly whistled through the trees as leaves were blown off its branches. They danced in the wind and slowly began to fall back down gracefully around the remains of the still smiling young girl that was once known as June.

* * *

Everything little thing possible hurt as August ran for her life through the thick underbrush. Her legs felt as if they were being consumed by fire and her lungs felt as raw as the tree bark she scraped against as she ran.

None the less, August ran as fast as she could as the two blood lusting dogs still chased her.

Food was their only priority and right now they were chasing it.

August wished she could have screamed for help but her throat was too raw to be of any use now as she stumbled blindly through the trees and bushes.

The girl cried silently to herself as she ran, pleading in the back of her mind for a miracle though she knows there will be none. August ran and ran and ran, but to no avail as the dog kept chase.

Without having food or water for a while and hardly any sleep, August knew she was a goner from the start as she continued to move.

After what seemed like an eternity the little girl suddenly felt her legs go rigid and then numb as she collapsed and then skidded to a halt in the dirt. She cried out as she tried to stand but the feeling would not return to her legs and she began to crawl with her hands and stomach.

A loud gushing sound was the first thing that can be heard before August screamed for as loud as she was worth into the night. The sickening noises continued as one of the dogs had finally caught their prey and had sunk its teeth around the child's calf and began shredding the muscle.

August had never before in her life felt such immense amount of anything in her whole life that could amount to the pain that wracked her body now, not fear, not sadness, not anything. August screamed one last time before everything in her swimming vision began to be drowned out in black and red.

August lost consciousness just as the second dog approach her. It snarled, pushing back its lips to show off its glistening pink gums and rotting teeth before going in for the kill.

* * *

Two loud thuds could be heard as both dead dogs were thrown to the forest floor, each having been impaled in a different way, the first through chest and the second through the head. A loud laugh rang out as a pair of barely clad feet approached the prey that the two dogs had so viciously hunted down. A pair of slanted violet eyes leaned closer to the unconscious victim as the person crouched down next to them. With a grunt he swiftly kicked the person so they were facing him.

"A little girl huh, hmm how interesting" Envy paused as he took in the dried blood that was already splattered all over the child's clothes and face. He grinned before chuckling to himself again.

"Ah, well now it seems you're going to die here anyway even after I got rid of those mutts for you, he he he sucks for you kid" He mocked as he watched the little kid's face contort in pain even in her sleep and the puddle of blood grow around her legs. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Hey I know, seeing as no one cares for a pathetic human like yourself, how about I give your short miserable life some meaning as I have fun finishing you off right now!" Envy laughed sadistically as his arm morphed into a blade. He raised his arm high and his grin grew in anticipation.

"Envy stop."

The envious sin halted his bladed arm just a few inches from the child's still slowly moving chest. Narrowed violet cat-like eyes glared as Envy turned his head slightly to meet the equally glaring Lust.

"What did you say" He growled, angry at the lustful sin for stopping him from killing this miserable little waste of life.

"Envy, the master ordered us to find and bring back that child and her sister back to the manor." At this Envy snorted. "Why would Dante want something as pathetic as this thing" He sneered as he turned back to look at the dying little girl before him.

"The master wants to question them about the large alchemic explosion that happened here just an hour south of here. They were found inside of it. Don't pretend you didn't even notice it on your way here." Lust frowned broadly as she sat on one of Gluttony's shoulders.

Envy growled, unable to figure out what he hated the most at this point, either not being able to kill anything in a whole week or being informed an then ordered around by Lust. He growled again when his mind came to a tie. He turned back to Lust and Gluttony.

"Fine then take her back to the manor then!" He snapped.

"We can not, not yet" Lust interrupted as she stood.

"The child needs medical treatment or she will bleed out before we can get to the manor and hand her over to the master and then dispose of her." She smoothed over once she noticed Envy losing his temper yet again.

"The nearest military doctor is only twenty minutes from us now due west on the outskirts of Dublith. I can lead you there but you would have to disguise yourself as part of the military and take her inside." Envy's patience grew thinner and thinner with each word and he grew closer and closer to tearing all three of them apart and going back to the manor himself, especially the human.

He hissed angrily like a cat and in one quick fluid motion he spun around, picked up the bloodied human, and brushed past Lust and Gluttony in something less than second.

"Hurry up and show me where it is Lust!" Envy snapped as he glared pointedly at Gluttony who he had just caught licking the little girl's bloodied leg. Gluttony sat back with a whine of disappointment as his stomach growled for him.

"But it's so tasty" He groaned sadly as his stomach rumbled again. Lust sighed as she walked ahead of them and patted her constantly famished partner on the top of his head.

"No Gluttony, not this one either." Envy simply rolled his eyes. Like a candle snuffing out in a breeze they all disappeared silently and swiftly as they traveled out towards their destination. Needless to say the military Headquaters in Dublith got quite the surprise that night.

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Review if you would like and message me if you care to correct me on anything involving my character representations of Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Dante or my grammer and spelling. Thank you, your reviews mean alot. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again to all those that took an interest in this story. I thank you to those that have reviewed and to those that have chosen to follow this Fanfic. I appreciate it very much. Enjoy. :)

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Chapter three: No options left

Dawn was fast approaching over the forest surrounding Dublith. Little woodland creatures scurried mindlessly around as the birds began to chip in the trees for the arrival of another peaceful morning.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE OTHER ONE IS DEAD!" an incredibly loud voice roared out over the peaceful serenity of the forest. Or maybe not…

"Exactly what I said Envy" Lust replied smoothly as she brushed a few flicks of imaginary dirt from her tight green dress.

"The two children we were sent to retrieve were attacked before we arrived and the older girl was shot down in the struggle" Lust summed up as she watched one of Envy's eyes twitch in annoyance.

"Great, just great, the Master is going to be pissed off for sure" Envy growled as he moved to subconsciously place his hands on his bony hips but paused as he remembered the still unconscious child in his arms.

"Hmp…are you sure we can't feed this one to Gluttony and pretend she died with the rest of those pathetic humans?" The androgynous formed teen huffed while throwing the human child over his shoulder as the three of them continued their sprint through the sun lit forest. Gluttony grinned and then began drooling savagely as he eyed the little bandaged child from beside his follow homunculi.

"Oh please, please, can I, can I Lust?" The starving sin pleaded as he began drooling once more.

"For the last time, No Gluttony, we will take her to the Master first and she will decide whether you may or may not eat this child alive" An agitated Lust chastised her famished partner before sending a meaningful look to the eldest homunculus.

"And Envy…"

"Yesss?"

"Stop teasing Gluttony with the child and hold her properly" She spoke as she noticed yet again, Envy playing with Gluttony with the little girl as bait. He would suddenly slow down to allow Gluttony to become face to face with the child before leaping ahead, and leaving behind the hungry glutton who now had the bear the smell of his favorite food taunting his nostrils. He whined sadly as his tummy rumbled loudly. Envy's smirk evaporated after Lust caught on to their little game and he grumbled a choice stream of words towards the female sin. Suddenly Envy stiffened as he felt the child in his arms stir slightly. August mumbled something incoherent as she struggled in the homunculus' grasp as the beginnings of a nightmare began to eat away at her.

"What the…" Envy growled as he glared down at the child, offended as she began tossing and turning in his arms. "Hey you, quit struggling. Hey I said quit it!" He snapped as the child refused to listen and remained locked in her gruesome dreams. All three of the homunculi halted from their run as the manor appeared before them. Envy stood in the front of the entrance as he kept snarling and spewing death threats towards a still unconscious August. The harder the murderous sin tried to squirm out of the kid's tiny but surprisingly strong grasp, as she gripped the front of his skin-tight black top for dear life, the harder August latched herself to the unwilling homunculus. The small child then cried out a few times in her sleep and stuffed her face into the closet pillow she could find, which was surprisingly warm and firm yet soft enough to be comfortable at the same time. Unfortunately for little August that pillow just happened to be the toned chest of one very deranged, sadistic, and ultimately in-human homunculus. The moment the stupid brat began to cry into his shirt Envy had lost it and began to see in red.

"Wake up you sniveling little brat or I will skin you alive!" Envy snarled as his patience broke and his arm began to morph into a long black blade. His purple feline-like eyes narrowed as blood lust overshadowed his thoughts. He smiled sadistically as he raised his bladed arm and readied himself to rip this little lost girl in his arms apart. Lust noticed this and began to extend her fingers into the ultimate spear, needing to stop the eldest of her kin from killing the pathetic human child crying into his chest, more for her own sake than anyone else's.

"See ya later pipsqueak!" Envy laughed as he swung his arm down in maniacal glee. Suddenly a bright flash of blue light invaded the clearing and temporarily blinded the three homunculi.

"The hell?" Envy hissed as he craned his neck back at an impossible angle to witness his bladed arm being held back by various ivy and wooden vines that had extended from the walls of the mansion and had moved across the clearing. He struggled for a moment as he still saw red and got ready to tear the annoying things from him, that is, until a bone chilling voice made him pause all together.

"Enough Envy" Dante commanded as she slowly entered the sun filled clearing.

Lust and Gluttony stiffened in surprise at not being able to sense their master's overwhelming presence before as they quickly bowed. Dante paid neither of them any heed as she quickly approached Envy, who had quieted once his Master stood before him.

He inwardly gulped as recognized the calm, almost undetectable, amount of anger underneath the perpetually serene old face of the body she continued to inhabit.

Dante turned abruptly away and calmly walked back towards the manor. The rest of the homunculi held no hesitation as they followed their master into the large mansion.

Once within the grand living room Dante turned her attention once more on the young girl clinging to Envy.

"She is quite young. I was expecting someone much older." Dante mused as she continued to watch August silently sob into the Envy's chest.

"This one of the children I presume Lust?"

Lust stood up as did Gluttony.

"Yes, the child is around eight years old." Dante seemed to nod her head ever so slightly as she observed the child from afar. Her neutral gaze then fell on her first-born.

"Envy, bring her here." He needed no further command as he quickly gripped the small child by her fragile shoulders and tried to pry her loose.

August still remain in her delusional state as she cling tighter to her pillow and tried to kick away whatever force was trying to tear her away from her happy place. She had assumed it was her annoying big sister, and she would rather go eat a shoe then give up her spot again!

"What the hell is wrong with this kid!" Envy grunted as he tried again.

Either he was getting weak or this little shrimp was somehow stronger than him. Neither option sounded particularly desirable to him. He twitched as he scowled down at the small warmth that was invading his personal space.

"It's not human" He deadpanned as he glared daggers at the clingy yet somehow still unconscious brat.

Dante held back an amused smirk as she quickly viewed the situation her 'once' son had now found himself in. Of all the people in the world this little girl had the worst luck in the history of humanity to end up with Envy as her personal pillow.

Dante resisted a sigh as the child continued to cry from her nightmare. She too longed to have the sobbing brat silenced but she knew she would have to exercise her tolerance and self-control if she had ever hoped to gain something from this little wailing excuse of a life. Dante abruptly stood from the ornate chair she sat in as she walked over to them both. Envy ceased struggling as he watched his Master curiously.

"Honestly Envy" Dante sighed aloud as she clapped her hands together "How hard is it to pry a little girl off yourself"?

Envy snarled silently to himself at the backhanded comment. If it were anyone else he would have broken they're face in a long time ago. Suddenly bright blue sparks began to dance from her hands as Dante placed one atop of the young girl's head. As quick as they had come the sparks vanished into the girl's skull and in that glorious moment Envy finally felt the girl's small hands release him as she went limp.

Dante glanced at Envy. His face was emotionless, but she could feel the hate and raw anger pouring out from him in waves. His eyes held an untold amount of malice in them as he glared at the child that now tumbled off him without his support. August fell hard onto the cold marble floor.

"Wow that kid could sleep through a train wreck," Envy whistled as he kicked the sleeping little girl none too gently with his foot.

August continued sleeping, snoring softly if you listened hard enough. She had stopped crying shortly after Dante had used her alchemy to fluctuate the girl's chemical and hormone imbalances, thus ceasing her nightmarish train of memories. After watching Envy kick August a few more times she gave him a pointed glare after seeing the girl twitch slightly and then slowly began to stir. Dante deducted that the child would come to in a few short moments as she then turned her full attention on Lust for more important matters.

"I see you have brought me the younger child-" Dante paused as she noticed the bandages constricting the child's right calf, a few of them had become bloody and soiled with dirt and dried medication.

"-In more or less able condition."

All three of them looked away as they tried to ignore that last part, though they knew they would have to explain that to their master all too soon.

But where is the older one?" Dante questioned as she eyed the female sin critically. The side of Lust's mouth twitched but nothing gave away as she felt a sudden wariness for her master's question. She began to become oddly nervous, well as nervous as a soulless being could become, as she began to fear for her existence.

"The older child is dead" Lust spoke neutrally.

Everything then became completely silent. The impenetrable silence lingered for a long and terribly drawn out moment as Dante soaked in this new information.

"Dead you say" Dante spoke as the room suddenly turned colder. August shivered slightly as she subconsciously hugged herself for warmth, wondering all the while where her pillow had run gone. The child 'hum-ed' under her breath as she decided to wait five more minutes before she had to wake up. Though the cold affected August, to a homunculus the temperature difference meant nothing, but what did warn them of impending danger was the faint pull in the room as if the very energy was being sucked out of the air itself. Not another second had passed before there was a bright light, and an explosion shook the room.

Black blood fell stained the brightly polished marble floor as a series of large spiked boulders exploded out of the ground and impaled both Lust and Gluttony. Envy jumped back in surprise. As the dust settled Dante watched her creations struggled helplessly against her alchemy.

"I warned you not to fail me and yet here you do so regardless" She spoke, impassive to their struggling and occasional cries of pain as the spikes occasionally would shoot out of the ground and impale both of the homunculi repeatedly. Envy tried not to wince as he watched another spear emerge from the floor and stab Gluttony through his head. Gluttony let out a loud whine as he kept thrashing.

"But not too worry" Dante mused as she walk closer to them. "I will not replace you. After all you did bring me something" The sound of another clap resonating through the manor and the familiar crackle of blue light danced around the room as Dante released her creations. Lust grunted as her body began fixing the damaged done to it as Gluttony groaned in pain.

Lust looked sideways to glare at Envy once she had noticed that he remained unscathed. Envy smirked once he caught the glare directed towards him. His eyes narrowed as Lust broke off her angered gaze and widened her eyes ever so slightly as she looked past him.

"Master…the child is awake" Envy's own eyes widened in surprise as well as he spun around to see impossibly bright green eyes staring at all of them.

"Yes I am aware of that Lust" Dante merely smiled as she turned towards the very terrified little girl sitting before her.

"Hello there little one, you are finally awake I see" The kind old woman smiled innocently at August as she came and knelt beside her.

"Now then, how long have you been sitting there child?" The little girl remained mute as she watched Dante's pretend show of kindness.

August watched the woman, her little face giving nothing away, though she was inwardly breaking at the seams in terror. She had been awake for everything. She had watched this strange lady do that same funny looking magic stuff that her and June used to do, and she had seen her make those giant pointy rocks to stab those two scary strangers from before. She could barely believe her eyes when after the lady clapped her hands and let them go, that they were still alive. They even picked themselves up a second later as if nothing had happened. August shivered as she remembered those two from last night; the scary, short, bald man that ate people and the very pretty lady that could make her fingers into really long claws. August gulped as she glanced around quickly and realized that everyone was staring at her.

Unable to speak August simply shook her head. Dante's gaze narrowed for only a fraction of a second before she sighed sadly and slowly stood. "I see then, do you at least have a name little one" Blinking in confusion, August wondered why on earth would they want to know her name if they were going to hurt her anyway. Frowning at her own timidness to speak, August then had an idea as she noticed what appeared seemed some ink on the floor right next to her.

Everyone watched the child as she hesitantly stood and limped over to the small puddle of black blood near where Lust and Gluttony were impaled and dipped her fingers into the substance. Envy's eyes widen slightly in surprise, Lust's eyebrows rose in disgusted shock, Gluttony sucked on his finger in confusion, and Dante merely raised one eye brow in interest as the little girl began scribbling something on the floor. There in black smeared letters August put down her name.

"August? My, my, what an unusual name for a little girl." Dante mused aloud as she kept on smiling at this strange little girl. August frowned slightly as she wrote out something else.

"You wish to know why you are here," Dante read out loud again. August nodded her head savagely. Dante smirked faintly.

"Of all the questions you could ask, such as what they are-" she gestured to the homunculi "Or where you are-" She gestured to the large elaborate living room "You choose to ask what we want from you?" August continued to nod, though more wearily this time. Dante laughed aloud at this.

"Smart girl, very well I will tell you soon but first I believe a bath is in order" At this everyone's mouth dropped open in shock, disbelief, or puzzlement.

"That thing is not staying here!" Envy suddenly barked as he sent the dirtiest glare he could towards a very petrified August. She whimpered as she ducked her head and curled in around herself.

"Now Envy, it is impolite to frighten our guest, especially one so young and impressionable" Dante chided lightly, though the silent threat lingered underneath her words. He paid it no heed as he felt his fists clench at his sides. His anger rolled off of his form in waves as his master continued to ignore him. She walked closer to the child's side and gently grabbed her lithe shoulder.

"Come now dear; wait outside in the hallway-yes that one- and I will see to your bath in a moment. After all I can't stand dirty things in my home" August tried not to flinch as the surprisingly strong old woman pulled her up to her feet and quickly escorted her into the hall before promptly closing the large door on little August, who only felt as baffled as ever. August shuffled her feet timidly as she waited and listened to the indistinguishable voices floating from the other side of the wall.

"Are you serious about keeping that stupid little human" Envy continued to rave as he glared challengingly at his master.

"But of course" The earlier innocent grin was wiped away, as if it never existed, and replaced with a sneering scowl as Dante watched her oldest creation continue to make a fool of himself.

"What good is she? What could this little shrimp possibly have to do with anything of value to the plan?"

"For one she is a powerful alchemist." Envy froze, as well as Lust and Gluttony, in stunned silence.

"What" Lust breathed but was quickly silenced by a scolding glare from Dante.

"It would be utterly foolish to waste such a rare talent that can help in my plans to perfect a philosopher stone." Envy snorted aloud.

"Master! Do you seriously think that little pipsqueak can make a philosopher stone?"

"With time and training" Dante mused as she glared at Envy. Envy's narrowed eyes widened as he took a step back and pointed an accusing finger at his senile, old, master.

"You're KEEPING it!" He sneered in shock and disgust.

"Yes" Dante snapped coldly, as her expression darkened considerably.

"That child will stay here and become my pupil so I may mold and shape her into becoming a great alchemist like myself." Dante smirked as she slowly began walking back towards her seat.

"Whether she can, in time, complete a perfected philosopher stone is irrelevant, for she will serve for other uses as well." The older woman finally sat as she turned to her servants once more.

"That child will become a powerful ally and once I am done with her she will only seek to obey me."

Envy gritted his teeth angrily as he crossed his arms. Lust frowned slightly as she pondered on this new addition to her master's plan. Gluttony suddenly whined disappointed.

"So… I **can't** eat her?" The fat sin stressed as he watched his master curiously.

"No Gluttony, you may not eat this child." Dante ordered patiently. She sighed impatiently as she briskly rose.

Gluttony sighed sadly as his meaty shoulders slumped forward dejectedly.

"Now, if you three don't mind I other matters to deal with other than listening to all of you complain." The old woman spoke coldly as she began walking to the hallway doors.

"Wait, Master are you serious! How the hell is keeping this little alchemy brat such a good idea?!" Envy snarled angrily as he threw his arms up in exasperation.

Dante's calmly opened her lilac eyes as she evaluated the ridiculous temper tantrum before her.

"I'm glad to see you are so accepting of this new development Envy" She mused casually. Said sin's eye twitched dangerously.

"Because of you enthusiasm, I believe you would be the perfect candidate to watch over the child and to make sure she stays alive and unharmed." Envy stood frozen, as if he had forgotten how to move. Lust and Gluttony stood just as rigidly before they quickly began to move silently away from the deathly quiet sin. Dante simply smiled before glaring harshly at him.

"This is the price for your stubbornness today Envy. Hopefully this will teach you to have a bit more self-control and a tad more respect for your elders."

The master of the homunculi hid a sadistic smile as she paused in the open doorway.

"Always remember who you are talking to Envy, and if you fail me this time rest assured I will not hesitate to replace you with another and end your meager existence."

That was all that Dante said as the ornate wooden door closed softly behind her, and both the elderly woman and child disappeared down the lavish hallways of the eerily silent mansion.

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Please review if you have any comments you would like to share or questions you would like to ask. If you would like to voice a complaint or correct me on something I might have missed in my editing than by all means PM my account. Again, thank you those that read this and who continue to follow this story.

As well, don't worry if this chapter felt to be too much of a filler chapter, more is to come. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again my fellow readers. Here is the next chapter. Warning: Has strong implied mentions of child abuse. If this offends you, then I apologize to you in advance. Please enjoy, and feel free to be a critic.

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Chapter 4: Strangers

The eerie silence that resonated within the mysterious mansion lingered on as two figures silently drifted through the elaborate halls. Shadows fell all around little August as she struggled to keep up with the strange elderly woman beside her. As she tried to squint through the gloom cast by the barley lit lamps, August couldn't make up her mind about her new host. She acted just like a sweet old woman and even looked like the typical sweet old grandma that would bake cookies all afternoon.

August, being the child she was, smiled goofily as her mind began to conger up delectable images of trays among trays of hot steaming cookies straight from the baker's oven.

She drooled a little.

August quickly shook her head and wiped her mouth as she attempted to dispel her daydream. Wide sea green narrowed in concentration as the little girl struggled to stay on task, despite the tantalizing images of fresh cookies that now danced around in her brain.

_'Focus'_ she warned herself as she returned to the matter at hand.

Still, this kind old lady _was _letting her stay in her very big, big, big house, August mused as she allowed herself to become distracted yet again.

Her clouded eyes began to wander around the beautiful hallways. August inwardly marveled at the flawless rose-colored walls that shone in the dim light that fell softly from the strategic golden lamps that littered the hallways, and the ornate delicate wooden carvings that lined the decorative boarders of said walls. The little girl couldn't help but become excited. August had never seen such a pretty house,

…And this was just a hallway.

August again stole a long glance at the owner of this abet pretty yet all together creepy house.

_'But then again…'_

She had briefly seen what this old woman was capable of. August had briefly seen when this sweet looking old lady made those giant pointy rocks out of nothing, and repeatedly stabbed the two strangers from before. The little girl shivered as goose bumps pricked her bare arms. What had scared her even more was when they got up after a few minutes and acted as if it were nothing. August suppressed a whimper as the images began to creep into her mind's eye. She gulped as she stole a fearful glance at the smiling old woman.

Was she a witch? Was she going to eat her? Would she make her into little girl cookies? August continued to watch the nice old lady warily.

August had a bad feeling about this one.

"Were ever you taught that staring is rude little one?" Dante questioned indifferently as she spared the little girl, who had fallen a little ways behind her, a meaningful glance. August gulped nervously as she quickly broke eye contact with those cold eyes. For some reason those eyes alone terrified her. Dante frowned at the girl's timidness as she observed her carefully for another moment. She stopped abruptly, with August nearly bumping into the folds of her robe.

"We're here little one," Dante announced as she push aside the large oak door leading to the white marbled washroom. August blinked against the bright gleam of the blank tiles as she observed the lavish bathroom. As August watched the old woman slowly bend down to turn on a strange-looking device that served as a faucet, August was left to wonder just how wealthy she really was. While August was caught up in her own imagination she had no chance of seeing the secret vial that Dante slipped out from the cloak of her gown. A small malevolent smirk slowly wormed itself the old wrinkled face as she began pouring the strange smelling medication into the water. With a soundless clap and a flash of blue light, the smell almost undetectable as Dante stood.

August tensed as she felt a bony hand come down on her slim shoulder. She tried not flinch, as she looked up, straight in the elderly woman's warm smile yet hypocritically cold gaze. The old woman smiled reassuringly at August.

"I take it you know how to bathe yourself my dear" Dante bared a false smiled once more as she straightened herself.

"Take all the time you need. One of my…servants will show you to your room once you are done" Dante spoke as she strolled briskly past the little girl.

August watched warily as the old woman took her leave. She held her breath when the strange woman stopped in the threshold and gave one last glance at her. To August the smile she wore seemed forced.

"We will talk in the morning, good night dear."

The sound of the door closing loudly behind her was the last August heard of the mysterious old woman as she finally took her leave. August's shoulders suddenly drooped as she released a heavy sigh she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"That woman was scary" August concluded as she clutched at her still racing heart.

August watched her grimy reflection stare back at her from the polished marble floor for what seemed for a long time. She sat down as she inspected her reflection. After a while, she looked up, only to note that the water was no longer emitting steam. A small frown made itself way over her delicate little features.

She knew that the water had lost most of its heat and if August despised anything more than someone stealing her pillow, it was taking a cold bath.

Where was that pillow anyway?

Another sigh and the sound of fabric falling to the floor were heard as August slowly eased her battered and bruised body into the large bathtub and grumbled at the temperature.

The little girl suddenly cried out as she gripped her stinging calf and bit her lip. A wisp of bright blood could be seen trialing from the still bandaged mess that was her calf, amidst the dirt and grime that now freely floated in the lukewarm water. August winced in pain again until she began to feel the sharp pain gradually subside until it was only a dull throb. She breathed a sigh of annoyance.

"Got to be more careful next time." The little girl scolded, as she suddenly felt strange. Shaking her head at herself August stifled a yawn as she grabbed the bar of soap that hadn't looked like it hadn't been used in a while and went to work. August knew she should have been astonished at all the filth that polluted the now murky water but all she could bleakly make out in her own mind was the sudden overpowering urge to sleep. Her head even began to sway from side to side as she tried in vain to make out one coherent thought, and failed. The world was spinning in August's perspective as she began to feel detached from her own body. Her muscles suddenly began to lightly twitch as her throat began to feel itchy. August gasped as she suddenly felt a sharp twinge her chest.

August could only whine in pain as the muscles in her chest and back began to spasm viciously, feeling as if a knife were twisting trough her chest. Screaming was futile once the little girl began to feel her throat slowly constrict into itself. Choking, gasping, splashing, proved all but useless for her as she quickly began to feel light-headed. A defending buzzing sound started to drown out everything.

'Wait help! Somebody hear me!' August mentally pleaded as her head began to throb. She squeezed her eyes shut as she mentally willed for someone to come to her aid before she passed out and drowned. Her brain racked through the short list of people she knew were here in this house. Whether if they even heard or cared about her struggle she probably would never find out as August felt her arms give out completely and she became engulfed by water.

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Envy sat on the floor of his room, glaring at the dark wall before him. Well, what was left of it. After being charged with taking responsibility for that brat he had been rather upset.

All right that was understatement…

It had taken the envious sin a few minutes to process just what Dante had sentenced him to, and even a few more seconds to realize that she wasn't jerking him around, but when he did he didn't take the news lightly. Destroyed halls, pulverized furniture, and massive craters of various sizes indented into the stone ground were all a testament to only a few things that transpired during one of Envy's latest tantrums. Violet cat-like eyes narrowed as he suddenly fought the urge to smirk when he heard a soft but enraged shout for him from the main ballroom.

If Dante were so upset about the damn furniture she definitely wouldn't like the events that had just transpired in Dublith either. Envy had to smirk at that.

"Serves the old woman right after all." He chuckled as he rose and stretched lazily. Feeling his bones crack unnaturally with satisfaction. Spinning on his heel, the smirking sin strolled casually out of his room and down the elaborate halls. He could hear various oaths and curses coming from the cracked doorway as he passed by the previously destroyed ballroom. He ignored them as he passed the cracked doorway and continued on. His head perked up as he noticed Lust pacing up and down the next hall to his right. Her normally neat and orderly hair was in slight disarray, as if it had tugged on it, and a deep-seated scowl marred her pristine features.

"What the hell has gotten you so worked up?" Envy scoffed as he stalked up to her. Lust paused momentarily in her fruitless pacing to spare him a black look before giving her back to him.

"Nothing" The normally composed sin snapped in restrained annoyance. Envy snorted in amusement before moving to brush past her.

"Aw come now Lust, that's not very nice. What is it this time, missing you little boyfriend from that decrypted old town out east?" He mocked as he continued to smirk maliciously at her frustration.

"Oh what was his name? Hmm, let me think…" Unseen by him, Lust curled her lip into a silent snarl as her annoyance for the assertive sin got the better of her.

"…Leej- No. Lujen? Nope. Ah, Lujon, was it-?"

"Envy, go find that girl, she is missing" Lust hissed angrily as she cut him off in mid-sentence. Her fingers extending into long sharp spears unconsciously as she fought the urge to swipe at the snide sin, knowing very well that it would not end well for her.

The growing smirk that had been plastered on his face was wiped away completely as one of Envy's eye twitched in barley retrained anger.

"Like hell I'm going to go searching for that little brat. I have better things to do."

Lust raised a sculptured eyebrow. "Really now, what could that possibly be?" Envy snorted in response and folded his arms while childishly turning up his nose.

"Master made that child your responsibility…" It was now Lust's turn to smirk mockingly. "Its your duty to know where she is not mine." Envy soundlessly gritted his teeth harder with every passing word.

"Can it you old hag!" He hissed menacing as he roughly shoved past the smirking female sin.

"I would hurry to find her if I were you Envy, I can imagine that our Master will be extremely displeased if you fail such a simple task-" Her taunt was cut short as a large onyx blade stabbed the wall beside her. A strand of silky raven hair fell silently to the ground. In a spark of red the same lock was revived as the old strand of hair faded to dust on the wooden floor. Lust remained unfazed despite the large blade beside her head and simply glared at the enraged face inches from her own.

"I would watch it if I were you Lust. After all, I am not the one with a weakness that lies just outside that miserable little town to the east." Envy grinned wickedly, knowing he had won that argument judging by the almost undetectable shift in her stance. Envy chuckled as he pulled away and continued thundering down the halls.

Narrowed silted pupils glared heatedly at everything that they landed on as Envy glowered to himself.

"Stupid old hag! How dare she make me babysit some little, stupid, human brat; what was going through her senile old mind anyway?" He ranted as he continued down the halls, with half of himself wondering where he was even going. Suddenly Envy became aware of an odd splashing noise and wetness on his feet. He looked down.

There was a puddle of water pooling at his feet. He blinked, and blinked again as he allowed his eyes to follow the stream of cool water down the hallway. Following the miniature river of water down a few more various hallways, the envious sin came to a halt in front of what he vaguely remembered to be a bathroom.

"What the hell…" He trailed off as he jiggled the door handle.

It remained locked. Envy grunted in annoyance before twisting the handle and breaking the flimsy lock.

He quickly let the door swing open without a second thought to the persons' inside privacy.

"Alright who is the idiot who…" Envy trailed off.

The washroom was empty.

Envy, the first, strongest, and most seasoned of the homunculi could only utter the most intelligent response he could conjure for a moment in a situation such as this.

"Huh?"

Envy scratched the back of his head as he took a 'sloshing' step into the deserted bathroom. Turning to his left he noticed the source of the water and grumbled in annoyance.

"Where is the idiot that left the water running?" He stalked over to the still running faucet still grumbling to himself about "idiots" as he leaned over to stop the overflowing bath water. Envy scrunched up his nose in disgust at the filthy thick water and a strange sickly sweet smell that suddenly pierced his sensitive senses.

He stopped suddenly, something catching his attention from the corner of his eye. Turning slightly to his side he noticed a pile of dirty clothes discarded on the pristine marble floor. What really caught the sin's attention the most was the familiar string of bloody bandages laying just next to his knee. Envy cautiously picked up the soiled bandages.

"The brat was in here…" He paused as he glanced around, something nagging at the back of his mind. "Then why did she leave without her damn clothes!?"

Envy stood and observed the room once more. He stared at the door for a minute, something nagging his mind still. The handle was still swinging from the force of the impact he had used to rip out the lock. The lock…

He suddenly growled as it suddenly hit him.

The door had been locked from the _inside_.

The little girl never left the room.

She was still here.

Envy abruptly turned towards the overfilled tub. He eyed it critically.

Then that means…

"SHIT!" He yelled as he darted to the tub and plunged his arms in. After grabbing the motionless body he felt floating underwater, Envy yanked the little girl out of the bathtub and into his grasp. He quickly glanced down at the naked kid lying in his lap and froze. The little girl wasn't moving or breathing, and she was excessively pale.

She looked like a corpse.

Envy didn't know what to do. But he knew one thing, if his master found out of this, she really would get rid of him for good.

Envy yelled out in rage as he punched the floor beside the prone child's auburn locks. A small crater became indented there after that. He began seeing red as he glanced down menacingly at the child before curling up his fist and aiming at her.

This was her fault. All of it!

His already keen senses where sharpened from his resonating anger. He could hear everything. From the still dripping faucet to the sound of his soaked glove squelching as he tightened his fist. Envy paused.

'What was that?'

A soft thumping noise broke through the red haze that clouded his senses. He stared down at August in disbelief. After ignoring every fiber of his being that recoiled in utter disgust at himself for doing this; Envy hesitantly placed an alert ear to the little girl's still chest and listened for a short moment.

'Thump…'

"That better be what I think it is."

'Th-thump'

Ah, so she was alive!

Immediately the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the still washroom as Envy wasted no time in harshly punching the little girl in the stomach. Green orbs flew open as the little brunette sprang back to consciousness. As soon as she awoke a strange look pass over her face as August frantically clawed at her throat.

Envy stared at the frantic August as she struggled to breathe. He would have laughed sadistically at the pathetic runt if her life didn't mean his life as well. Again he was frozen, not understanding what he needed to do.

So he did the only thing that came to mind.

He punched her again, this time upwards against her diaphragm. Another strange look passed over August's face before she twisted violently in Envy's arms and began heaving.

He made a noise of disgust and quickly dropped the girl before taking a few steps back. August paid no heed to being dropped to the cold floor and promptly began expelling the filthy bath water from her lungs and stomach.

After a couple of minutes, August finished expelling the last of the foreign fluid from her body and bleakly tried to open her eyes. Suddenly a shadow fell over her. Unaware of the manacle intent radiating from the looming presence, August slowly glanced up at what she thought to be her savior. The little girl was met with a surprising sight.

The person had _very_ unique features that August had ever seen on anyone else before. This person had long strands of deep green hair fanned out across their back and down to their waist; a body structure that looked both very strong yet at the same time feminine in some places; and they even had a set of soul piercing, purple, cat-like irises.

August blinked owlishly and then blinked again. The poor little girl couldn't figure out whether the form before her was either a man or a woman, or maybe a cat, or hell even a palm tree. August felt so confused.

Being so caught up in her disoriented thoughts, August hadn't really seen the dangerous psychopathic look that Envy was giving her; all August saw was a scary set of glowing violet eyes.

If looks could kill August would have been murdered in the most grisly possible way known to man, and a few unknown ways, too at that point, by a very enraged homunculi.

August tried to slowly push herself up but everything felt weightless and disoriented. Suddenly the little girl found herself airborne, and a screaming pain bit at her scalp. August could not even muster the strength to scream in pain or shock as she was brought face to face with her supposed savior.

Envy glared at the pathetic human as he hauled her to his eye level by her hair. The kid's face contorted in pain but she didn't scream or flinch away from his grasp like he expected her to. He grunted in disapproval before narrowing his eyes and curing up his fist.

"You little shit. Did you really think that suicide was going to save you?" Envy hissed as he glared murderously at her. The little girl only stared at him in confusion. He growled at her clueless expression.

"Don't pretend you don't know anything brat! Drowning yourself in a bathtub in beyond pathetic, even for a pathetic worm like you!" He barked as he tightened his grip on her hair. Inwardly, Envy blanched as he realized he was, in fact, scolding the stupid, little, brat.

August had never felt so angry towards anyone this much before. Especially this wired androgynous teenager for assuming that she had tried to commit suicide. What was his problem? Was he blind? She hadn't been trying to die, she had tried to fight whatever had made her pass out in the dumb bathtub in the first place. August growled inwardly at this stupid stranger.

The little girl squirmed a bit before shaking her head at him in denial of her charge and glaring with as much force as she could muster. Envy snorted at her vain attempt to deny it.

"Fine, don't confess, see if I care. But I _am_ going to have to teach you a lesson you brat."

August suddenly felt an exploding pain in her stomach as the green haired youth shot a fist deep into her abdomen. She choked as the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Through the tears she watched helplessly as the purple-eyed monster curled its fist again and sent it crashing back into her stomach again and again. It felt like an eternity for little August until the punches stopped and she could breathe again. Her breathing was coming in gasps and her eyes began to feel like lead. The pain was miles away and yet searing through her veins with every breath. It felt all too familiar.

Envy dropped the kid back onto the unforgiving hard marble floor. A smirk wormed its way onto his features as he crouched down next to the battered kid and observed the rapidly forming bruises that covered most of the little kid's stomach. Gripping her hair again, Envy lifted the beaten child, not broken, as he had made sure not to cause too much damage, to look at him. Glazed over mint eyes stared blankly back at him. His smirk widened as he brought back his fist for one last punch.

"Please stop, dad" Envy paused as his fist was just inches from connecting with the bruised flesh beneath him. His amethyst eyes widened in stunned surprise. He immediately dropped the girl.

"Please stop hurting me…please stop hitting big sister too." Envy blinked as he stood very still. He glanced down in puzzlement at the little girl.

Her eyes were closed and her breathing had become even. August's face would crumple for a few seconds before remaining peaceful and twisting in pain again.

"She fell **ASLEEP**!" Envy couldn't believe it himself, even though he had seen it with his own eyes.

"What kind of human falls asleep after getting beaten up?!" He breathed as he simply sat back on his haunches and watched August continue to mumble in her sleep. Envy had no clue how that brat managed to just fell sleep like that, but finding out that she slept talked was interesting. He had never seen that before. August twitched and gave a gimmick in her sleep as an old memory began to unfold before her mind's eye.

" No. Because I heard the other grown-ups say it's a bad thing… I don't want to dad it feels bad…" Envy sat back as he processed this; imaging all sorts of situations that could have resulted from those vague words.

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

So this kid had _those kinds_ of problems…and with her father no less. Envy scowled in pure revulsion and crossed his arms.

"Human are as stupid as they are disgusting."

A sudden whimper caught his attention. He glanced down at the sniveling brat, waiting for her to say something more.

"I don't want to do it, I don't want to. Don't make me that, don't make me do that please…" Envy abruptly stood and watched indifferently as the child kept crying out in her sleep. After another minute he began strutting away.

He had heard enough.

* * *

A sleeping August continued to whimper in her sleep for while longer before subsiding as her nightmare came to a close. August shivered as the water droplets that still clung to her naked form felt icy in the now cold marble bathroom.

Suddenly August felt a surge of warmth engulf her. It felt as if she had been cocooned in something soft, warm, and ultimately fluffy. She began to wonder if she died and was in heaven.

'No I would have to have opened my eyes already. I think…'

Again, August was surprised as she felt herself moving, a slow jostling movement every few seconds. To the physically aching, mind-numbed and emotionally drained August, this was paradise. The last thing the little eight year old felt was her head hitting something soft and something else giving a quick hit to the back of her head, before it was lights out.

* * *

The sound of a loud sigh was heard echoing across the empty hallways as Lust continued roaming around aimlessly. She had hoped to find that little child herself by now, but it was fruitless in the end. A growling sound sounded off next to Lust as Gluttony held his rumbling stomach. He whined as he rubbed his aching stomach. Gluttony then sniffed the air questioningly.

"Something smells funny Lust" He frowned as he scratched his chin. Lust frowned as well.

"Yes. It seems familiar" She mused as they rounded a corner.

"But what is it Lust? Do you know?" Gluttony continued as he stared up adoringly at her.

"Yes, I believe so. Though I wouldn't know why it would be here." They continued down the halls, letting the time crawl away.

Lust suddenly paused by a partly open doorway. She stared at the wooden door for a moment longer and made a step towards it.

"Oh no Lust that's-I know Gluttony" Lust interrupted as she turned back towards her companion.

"Gluttony, go get something to eat in the kitchens, I need to be alone for a moment." Said sin looked up dejectedly at his female companion.

"Oh? Ok then Lust I'll go…" Gluttony nodded childishly as he went on his way to search for something to try to quench his insatiable appetite. Lust watched the fat, bald, sin disappear around a corner before focusing on the scene behind the cracked door. She placed her hand on the door frame and slowly pushed it open.

Even though the lights in the room were now off, Lust could still make out a small curled up figure lying on the bed. Her eyebrow rose when she realized it was the alchemy child. Her eyebrow then disappeared into her hairline when she remembered in whose room she was standing in.

"How interesting" She whispered aloud.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" Lust turned to meet the heated stare of the silhouette that leaned against the opened door frame. Envy glared at the female sin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Honestly Envy, when I told you to go find the human child I wasn't expecting this-"

"Shut up Lust its nothing like that" He scowled as the magnitude of his glare increased ten-fold. "I had nowhere to put the stupid brat."

"Really now Envy, then why would you have gone so far as to drug the poor child?"

"What are you going on about, I didn't-wait what?" Envy blinked. "Did you say drugged?"

Lust sighed heavily.

"Yes. Haven't you noticed that strange smell." Envy opened his mouth to say something more, most likely something indirectly insulting, when Lust interrupted him.

"That smell is from the extract of the Valerian root, it is used for extreme causes of insomnia." Envy raised an eyebrow. "And what would be the point in that?"

"In large amounts it can knock a human unconscious and if introduced in the blood stream it may cause seizures and blackouts" Envy suddenly became quite. Too quiet for Lust's liking.

"Tell me something then Lust…" Lust crossed her arms. "…how did you know all that useless garbage?"

"The master educated me on the purpose of this drug and its more lethal effects, to put them to use on certain… _clients_" Envy simply sniffed and raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"And why the hell should I believe you?" The female sin simply huffed in annoyance at the overly paranoid homunculus and made to move past him.

"Your little house guest will wake up in a couple of days-" A pale arm suddenly shot out in front of her, preventing her from moving any further. Lust turned to glare at the oldest homunculus in a mixture of annoyance and mild curiosity. To her surprise he didn't even glance at her. She followed his gaze to the sleeping figure on the unused bed. Envy was the one to break the long silence that followed afterwards.

"The Master has some of that same shit in her garden doesn't she?"

Lust said nothing to confirm or deny the indirect accusation, as she watched the jealous sin warily. She knew from experience that a silent Envy, meant a lethal Envy. After another long minute he finally glanced back at her. They stared at each other for a moment before Envy grunted in annoyance, reverting back to his original attitude.

"Get the hell out of here already!' He snapped as he roughly threw open the already mangled wooden door.

The sound of a door slamming shut was all Lust heard as she walked off towards the kitchens, where she knew her chubby companion would be waiting for her like a loyal dog. Lust paused as she looked back. From the corner of her eye she would have sworn that she saw the pale muscular back of Envy's figure, stalking down the hall, before disappearing into the shadows of the eerie moonlit mansion.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to respond by reviews and messaging on my account. If my spelling or grammar is wrong in certain places, please inform me. Again thank you for reading and reviewing to those whom already have. I hope you all continue reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The truth hurts.

A sliver of morning light shimmered through the dusty curtains and into the dark abyss of the bedroom where August slept. Soft, almost undetectable, snoring could be heard in rhythm with the rise and fall of her little chest as she continued dozing. An occasional shuffle and then a mumbled conversation of broken sentences would ensure until the little girl would sigh, before sliding back into her dreams.

Another sigh broke the pattern as someone shuffled uncomfortably next to the bed. Envy groaned as he was snapped out of his own dozing. He grunted as he stood up from his perch on the windowsill and stretched his stiff legs. Violet irises slid over to the still sleeping figure on his bed. Envy frowned angrily upon seeing the stupid human still asleep.

"Damn it all, is the stupid little human ever going to wake up?"

Envy crossed his arms as he sniffed the air once, satisfied that he could no longer pick up on that putrid stench of herbs. He glanced over at August again.

Lust _had_ said the effects of the drug would wear off eventually…she just didn't tell him just how _long_ it could take for one measly human to wake up! He growled in annoyance.

Why had the Master drugged this stupid bug anyways? What was the point? Wasn't she going to keep it? Envy stopped himself there, already becoming aggravated again. He had his suspicions about his master, but he knew, as well as any of the other homunculi, that she would never answer for her motives. After all, he had already stormed into her quarters and asked.

* * *

Subtlety had never been one of Envy's strong suits. So as predicted, in response to an extremely aggravated Envy, Dante had simply sighed warily already, becoming fed up with this time old pattern. Once he mentioned her supposed involvement in the child's sudden turn of ill health, she had merely raised a thin eyebrow. "Why, what ever do you mean Envy? That I intentionally would try to harm the child?" Dante frowned as she shook her head in disappointment.

"How utterly ridiculous of you Envy" Said sin released a growl from deep within his throat.

"Then why did you slip in that drug into the bath you made for that girl, master?" He watched his master intently, trying to figure out her cause. Was she trying to sabotage him? Was she toying with him? Or was this just all a test, to prove his worth…again.

'_It's not like I don't do all of her dirty work anyway' _a black scowl stole across the sin's face.

"Hmm, so you've figured out that much then? Believe me Envy I had no intention of killing the child. If I had truly wanted her dead I wouldn't have tried to end her in such a discrete manner." Dante gently folded her hands together as she smirked. Envy's scowl deepened and he left without another word.

* * *

Envy gritted his teeth. He knew she was messing with him. He knew it!

Envy glanced at August a final time. He snorted as he quickly strolled out of the room. The stupid human would wake up eventually. He probably would catch her roaming the halls sooner or later…or he could always get Gluttony to go and get her. A feral grin spread across his features. Yep he would definitely do that sometime.

'_But still…'_

Envy's smirk faulted as he continued down the halls and out of the mansion.

Despite whatever the real reasons that old hag had held, her plans had still ended in his sabotage and what was almost his premature demise.

Envy halted just outside of the manor and crossed his arms over his chest as he thought. As much as he was loathed to admit it he knew that he would have to start watching out for another one of Dante's little tests…or _he_ would get it.

'_Even if that means keeping a constant visual on the brat.'_

Envy felt a shiver crawl up his spine as his face twisted in an almost comical expression of repulsion mixed with horror. He just had a feeling he had sold his soul to the devil.

The envious sin had to pause as he collected himself. He wasn't going to like this, but then again he didn't have to actually interact with the brat, he just needed to make sure she stayed alive and healthy. He groaned.

"How hard could taking care of one stupid little human brat be?"

Envy squared his shoulders and snorted. Of course he could. He was a homunculus for fucks sake, he could handle anything this puny little worm could throw at him. Dante wouldn't be able to catch him off guard again. Envy gritted his teeth.

He would make sure of it!

And with that Envy stalked away into the woods, towards his mission in the South City of Fotest . Apparently things over there weren't lively enough. The border war that Artemis had been waging against Aerugo had gone stale. That was no good for the master's plans. Envy grinned savagely as he disappeared into the forest.

Looks like he was going to have to give them a little wake up call.

* * *

One month later:

"So that's it then?" A simple nod was all that confirmed the rhetorical question. Dante raised a thin, greying, eyebrow.

"You can't remember anything before the your sisters murder?"

A flinch, and than another nod of the head was all that a sullen August could muster at Dante's cold observation. The master of the homunculi sighed impatiently.

"Let's try this again child, from the beginning. Who taught you alchemy?"

August blinked once in confusion before staring off into space for a thoughtful moment. Violet, maroon, blank, and brown eyes were all trained on the little child as she closed her own sea-green eyes in concentration. All of the homunculi awaited her answer in anxious anticipation. They all leaned in slightly.

August opened her eyes, silently shook her head, and shrugged her shoulders hopelessly.

A collective groan could be heard from those seated around the elaborate living room, save one conceited body snatcher.

"This is getting us nowhere. The stupid brat can't remember anything at all. How pathetic!" Envy sneered as he openly glared at August for what probably was the fifteenth time that morning. The young girl did nothing but flinch slightly again and avert her eyes to the white linen tablecloth before her. Dante sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Envy _was_ correct. August hadn't been able to recall anything since waking up, nearly a week after the 'bath' incident and afterwards she had become extremely quiet and withdrawn. The child hardly moved, ate, slept or hardly interacted with anyone or _anything. _Dante said nothing for a moment as she calmly sipped at the cooled lemon tea before her. Something had to be done.

Dante smiled kindly at the little sullen girl before her as she gently placed her teacup back down among the array of other fine china spread out across the small tea table between them. "Patience Envy. All good things come in time. Now…"

August glanced up as she felt the woman's, whom had already introduced herself as Dante, powerful gaze on fall her. A month had passed and August still felt the uncontrollable urge to shiver every time she caught the older woman's attention. Just being in close proximity with her gave the little girl an alarmingly sense of dread that she could not shake off. August shrank into herself as she hesitantly met the old woman's deceitfully warm brown eyes.

"No matter then. It is of no real importance whom your original teacher was..." At this August cooked a brow in confusion. How could she simply drop the same subject she had been drilling August about for the past half-an-hour? Dante caught the incurious stare and smirked slightly.

"…Because I will now be your teacher." August felt a bone-chilling feeling clutch at her heart. "You will be my student and servant when needed. You will surpass many and become a powerful alchemist once you have been properly educated under my guidance."

August felt her mouth become as dry as sandpaper and her stomach began to squeeze itself into an impossibly tight ball. August felt something inside her began to stir at the old woman's words.

As Dante continued to list the benefits of her teachings, August became lost in the whirlwind of thoughts that had plagued here ever since she awoke nearly a month ago.

'_Why am I afraid'_, she wondered to herself as stared silently into the pristine porcelain teacup in her small hands. The teacup remained motionless as the amber liquid inside shifted slightly from side to side. For a moment August wondered numbly wondered why it did that.

'_Vibrations disrupting the molecules…'_ She begrudgingly remembered from a chemistry book she had recently found lying around. Curiosity had gotten he better of her and she had read the entire volume earlier that week.

'_I know I'm good at science, so why would I be afraid to learn alchemy? Isn't that what sister was trying to master anyways?'_ August closed her eyes as she struggled to remember, past the sickly dense fog that constantly swarmed her mind's eye. The little girl clenched her teeth unwittingly as her head pounded.

'_Y-yes… and she was trying to teach me too I-I think…but I don't she meant it would turn out to end like this.'_ August opened her eyes to stare off again as she thought. She made sure to keep her eyes trained on Dante, though her ears had become deaf to her words quite a while ago.

'_Shouldn't I be leaping at this chance? I mean if sister wanted me to learn alchemy, shouldn't I make her proud?' _The liquid rippled inside the teacup as August felt her hands begin to shake unconsciously.

'_But still, why am I afraid?' _All to soon images flooded her behind her eyes as the answers to her question.

Various diagraphs of pentagrams, runes, and rituals marked down in ink on old pieces of parchment paper.

Blue lighting flashes and roaring thunder.

Long black lances stained in red, slicing their way through screaming black figures around a fire.

Glowing red eyes staring straight through her soul from the darkness that moved to swallow everything before it.

Maniacal laughter echoed loudly as the scene of June falling to the ground, a large bloody hole in the center of her forehead, played over and over again.

August covered her eyes and screamed for as loud as she was worth.

Suddenly August felt strong, warm, hands clap over her mouth and remove her own hands from her watery eyes.

* * *

Everything was gone.

The room, the tea, Dante, the three others, EVERYTHING!

August hardly dared to breathe. Where was she? The little girl could see nothing but white.

An endless white void.

No…wait.

A figure…a familiar figure suddenly began to materialize about just a little ways in front of her. Their back was turned to her and their long ebony hair fanned out around them, pooling down their back and around their pale legs and onto the imaginary floor.

August felt herself move one step at a time, coming closer to the surreal figure seated on the floor. August felt her bare feet press into the cold missing ground as she found herself before the seated figure. A strong urge to reach out and touch the silent figure gripped the little girl. August stopped herself, her hand outstretched and just inches from the glossy scalp.

"Please turn around" August heard herself pleading. This surprise her, she hadn't been thinking that. She swallowed.

"P-please where-I'm scared!" August mentally gapped. She hadn't meant to say that at all!

"I-I-I…" August stuttered, unable to understand why her mouth and body betrayed her. Hot tears suddenly began to pour down her cheeks without her consent as August abruptly began crying.

Why was she crying, and in front of this wired stranger? Who was clearly ignoring her no less, in the middle of nowhere! August mentally ranted through her sobs. With a growing horror, she felt herself drop to her knees and continue bawling. She couldn't stop! August felt powerless and unable to control herself as she felt all of her fears and emotions that she kept bottled inside her for over the past month came spilling out like a tidal wave.

August cried, and cried, and cried…for what felt like hours on end. After what seemed like an eternity the sobbing child felt a pair of cold hands gently grasp her shoulders.

Slowly but surely August began to calm down. She wiped her eyes and hiccupped once more before looking up. August had to squint at the bright white light that outlined the figure before her. She let out a strangled gasp as her eyes threatened to overflow with more unshed tears.

"J-Jun-ue?"

The angelic being smiled down at the child's tear-stained face in adoration, and slowly wiped at the stray tears that rolled down child's flushed cheeks. Without thinking August slammed into her older sister and hugged her as hard as she could. She started to tear up again. June sighed heavily as she stroked her baby sister's hair.

"Honestly my little August Rush, you can be such a cry baby." August sniffed and wiped her nose childishly. "S-shut u-up! A-and y-your still a j-jerk June B-bug!" Said older sibling snickered as she patted the small brunette.

"Always will be" June muttered wistfully as she slowly untangled herself from her sister's immense death grip.

"Alright, alright, August now listen- stop crying would you- I something important to tell you!" June grunted as she struggled to break free from an extremely clinging younger sister.

"What?" August mumbled drowsily, as she was still pressed into her sister's chest. June groaned in defeat as she give up on breaking free her sister's incredibly strong grip.

"Listen to me August…" Wide forest green orbs stared into glazed mint green ones as August meet her older sister's suddenly intense gaze. "You need to get away." August frowned.

"What? From where?" August slurred oddly as she began to feel strangely lethargic; June growled as she shook her sibling's shoulders.

"Not from where, from who. The old lady in the house you are at. Dante!" August blinked quickly, as she remembered whom June was warning her about. "How do you know about that big s-sister?" June shook her head. "I just know okay…" August frowned, unhappy that her sister was still keeping secrets from her. August shrugged as she dropped the subject, and instead opted for another more pressing matter.

"Sister what is wrong with that old lady, just being around her scares me." August paused to shiver.

"Something is really creepy about her but I can't figure it out and it's just scaring me more every time I have to see her." June squeezed August's shoulders harder and took a deep breath.

"August I don't have time to explain everything to you right now, but know this…you SHOULD be afraid of Dante. Very afraid!" June all but hissed. August tried not to whimper at the deathly grim expression on June's pale face.

"That woman…is dangerous. Don't get on her bad side and run before she ties you to anything." The grip on her shoulder was so tight that August was a bit miffed when she could feel a single once of discomfort or pain. Suddenly August remembered something important she had nearly forgotten.

"Big sister, what about the other people?"

"Other people?" June blinked. "What other people?" June asked, her expression guarded. August frowned. "There's three other people, a short bald guy, a lady, and I think another guy." June could only stare at August in shock. It had just dawned on her who those people were.

"They're all really scary too, and one the one who I think is a guy has to keep watching me all the time cause I heard Dante say so. He is really, _really_, mean and...Big sis what's wrong?" August asked as she watched her sister's face turn paler and paler with every word. August didn't know if it was possibly to die again from shock but she thought her big sister just might.

"A-a-august…" June tired, and failed, to speak. She rubbed her temples as if she were experiencing a migraine and groaned. "Just…just answer me one thing about this 'mean person'." August leaned in closer, curious about what her big sister would ask.

"Could you…could you tell if this person is a boy or a girl when you first saw them?" August blinked once, then again, then a third time.

"Look I know that's a strange question but-EXACTLY!" August interrupted loudly as she nodded her head vigorously. Now it was June's turn to be flabbergasted. August paid no mind as she launched herself into full description of the creature.

"I couldn't tell at all! I mean, first I couldn't tell if it was a 'she' or a 'he', and then I thought it was part cat, you know cause of the cat like PURPLE eyes. Then I thought it was a palm tree cause it's hair looks just like one! Thank goodness, I thought it was just me, but it isn't. Hurray!" August paused in mid rant as she panted heavily from talking so much at once.

June could only sigh in defeat as her shoulders slumped forward. "Oh August, what have you done…"

"Eh?" August blinked in bewilderment. "What? What I do?" She wondered as she glanced at her sister's pale face. June simply sighed again and quickly brought August into a tight embrace. August gasped in surprise and blinked away her tears at the familiar gesture. She gripped her sister's nude form tightly. She was terrified of letting her big sister go again, terrified of losing her in the blink of an eye again, or without even say goodbye once more. August sobbed abruptly and sniffed, wiping away the tears and snot that leaked down her face.  
"Again with being a crybaby" June mumbled distractedly as she smiled into soft, dark auburn, hair.

"August, listen other than Dante, there was something else I needed to tell you before I go..." August sniffed as she buried her wet face deeper into the crook of her sister's neck, refusing to face the inevitable departure that she felt arising. Strong, but now slightly transparent, hands slowly gripped her shoulders and gently pulled the child away.

"Hey, I need you look at me for a second." August complied as June tenderly brushed away a few stiff, wet, strands that had become mated to her baby sister's tear stained face.

"Look August, I never intended to leave you behind like I did. It was cruel and I'm sorry" June frowned and looked away, seemingly on the verge of tears herself. "I should have seen them coming. Those drunken bast- I mean idiots…" August frowned sadly as listened intently but smiled slightly at her elder sister's familiar, not so discreet, attempts at modesty that were more for August's sake then anything else.

"Look this is going to be hard August but you are strong. You can do this, you'll be alright." June nodded assuredly as she patted her sister's wild mane. "Just promise me this. That you will survive…" August blinked as she stared warily at her suddenly grim older sibling. She hadn't been expecting much from June's normally passive, peacekeeping nature, maybe a promise for to 'be happy or something remotely of that nature', but that was sure a shock.

"August, you need to become strong and stay on your toes. Be sharp, be hard, and be guarded if you need to, but always listen and trust yourself and your instincts _first_. Don't let that weathered old hag and her cronies hold you back." Here, August had to cramp a small fist into her mouth to keep her giggles at bay. "And one more thing!" August looked back questionably. "I need you to make friends and find a life for yourself out there without me, okay kiddo? You need to let go of me already my little August Rush; if you just wait longer it will be even more painful and you might not be able to do it. You won't be able to cope. You'll just be lost." June paused as she quickly brushed her shimmering eyes, flicking away the glittering sparks that August recognized as tears

"Just like how I was when Mom died…" . June smiled contemplatively. August shivered as she felt her heart squeeze instinctually. They stayed silent for another moment as they both tried and failed to compose themselves.

Suddenly August felt another chill brush past her as she felt herself tipping forward to meet the nonexistent floor with a yelp of surprise. August could only gap as she wielded around to stare disbelievingly at her big sister.

She had fallen _through_ her.

June was fading. The surreal projection of her dear sister was losing its form and began to become transparent, ghostly even. August screamed in a mixture of shock, grief, anguish, and everything in between.

"No! Wait, please stop! Don't leave me again June!" The little girl cried out in distress as she tried in vain to catch the disappearing apparition in her hands.

"You will never be able to pick yourself back up if you can't even face the truth August." August froze, her hands outstretched. It felt as if the entire world had come crashing down upon her small, fragile, chest and crushed her lungs into pudding. She hung her head.

"The truth…"Suddenly August chuckled wearily and hugged her arms around her. "Yea, the truth, the truth is that your dead and now I'm all alone." A slap echoed in the stillness of the white void.

"You will NEVER be alone! I will always be there!" June shot back heatedly and August gaped like a fish as she touched the red handprint on her cheek. Wasn't she supposed to be transparent? And when did she work up the nerve to slap her?

"WHAT was that about!" August snapped angrily as she gingerly rubbed her face. "Why do you insist on _still_ being a jerk even when you're already dead and gone June!" Said apparition said nothing as she smirked mischievously.

"I'm so sorry, was I interrupting your pity party my _little_, _tiny_, _midget_, August Rush" June's smirk widened with every twitch of August's eyebrow. She was asking for it…

June straightened herself as she looked around herself with a cheery face. "Alright Kiddo, enough has been said and I have gone over the maximum time limit here! Hehehe, I'm gonna get in trouble!" June sang giddily. August chuckled halfheartedly as she watched her older sister disappear slowly, like a vanishing mirage. "You sound more like me every minute June Bug", she teased. June sighed as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Yeah well whatever I'm dead. I can act however I want to I guess." She smiled thoughtfully for a moment as she titled her head to the side and squinted, as if seeing something very far off in the distance. She suddenly snapped back to attention just as the last her body began to vanish into the white nothingness. June waved dramatically and saluted, with August catching on and copying her movement, mimicking an army game they had played when she was a lot younger.

"AAAttention!" "Sir, err,… Mam yes Mam!"

"Alright trooper August, you know what to do! Don't take shi-(cough) I mean stuffing, from nobody! Make friends! Get on with your life!"

Here August rolled her eyes at her big sister's typical harsh bluntness.

" And promise me you will never forget that I will always be that little part of you, cheering you on from the side lines, understood?!" August's face suddenly split into an ear-reaching grin as she felt a swell of self-confidence and strength as she played along for the final time.

"Mam yes Mam! I swear to forever honor this promise!" The tears had dried and August's face was no longer flushed from crying but beat red with courage and motivation. June stared in awe and a sudden pride that flourished in her chest as she watched her baby sister grow before her. Even though the pain of grief still lingered behind the bittersweet moment, both June and August couldn't shake the sudden feeling of overwhelming content that washed over their hearts. June smiled softly as she ruffled August's thick, wild, locks of wavy chestnut hair away from those unfathomably deep, pale green, eyes that shone with raw emotions.

That will do my little August Rush, that will do…" And then the world went white.

* * *

August felt something in her chest nearly explode as she bolted upright. Her mouth was opened wide as she panted heavily and her wide tear-filled eyes glazed over with raw, primal, emotion. August could feel every pore of her body shaking and sweating as she slowly came to her senses. She was back in the bedroom.

August loathed to admit it was _hers, _rather she was unceremoniously assigned it after she had been dumped in it after a few dozen times by Dante and her servants after every afternoon chat with the vile woman. August slowly shook her head and cradled her hands in her lap as she sat Indian style. She let out a shuddering breathe and suddenly quieted.

Something was off…

August glanced up and looked around, the back of her neck prickling. Suddenly she could hear a distinct chuckle coming from the window to her right. She blinked and soundlessly stood as she examined the dark silhouette that she had somehow completely missed sitting on the moonlit windowsill. The figure moved.

"Aw, what's wrong brat no more nightmare? Too bad they where getting very good." Envy smirked as he stood, cracking his back in the process.

"W-why are you here?" August whispered, feeling unnerved that she had caught-what was his name again?-watching her sleep.

"Hmp. Shut up and leave me alone brat. Go back to bed or something," Envy growled, turning to face the door.

"B-But-"

"Didn't I just say shut up?" Envy snapped, wheeling around to glare at the small figure, now a few feet away, staring at him. August stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do next.

"But, um, I just want to say sorry right." August fished around lamely for an excuse. Envy glared at her once more before snorting disgust and turning to go.

But August bristled at being ignored again, as she faintly remembered June's promise in the back of her mind. She supposed her anger and commitment towards her sister got the better of her at that moment for she did something very, very stupid.

"Hey!" August suddenly barked "If you're going to come in here in here to hurt my feelings and ignore my attempts at being nice and apologizing then I at least want to know why you where watching me sleep in the middle of the night!" August frowned angrily as she put up her best glaring façade. She wouldn't something like this anymore. She promised June!

The eight year olds resolve quickly crumpled to ash when Envy slowly turned around. His gaze was murderous.

"Do you have a death wish brat?" August shook her head meekly. "Good, now crawl back into the bed and shut the fuck up!" He barked as he gritted his teeth in anger. How dare this scrawny little shit stand up to him like that! He could crush her in less then a second and make her suffer a fate worse then death. He was a homunculus, how threating could he truly be if this stupid human child found the guts to stick up to him so brazenly. Though the action did stun and surprise him slightly. Envy snarled. He didn't like surprises.

He glared murderously at her little, shaking, form that still clung to the bedpost as he walked up to her. August was rotted to the spot in terror. Envy suddenly smirked, a fun idea to mess with the kid's mind suddenly popping into his head.

"Well. Then. The old bat wanted _me_ to make sure you won't _dying_ with all the screaming you've been doing lately, you little brat" He leaned in closer, his sadistic grin suddenly becoming wider. August felt dread pool in her stomach.

"But, I really didn't care about that. What me and everyone else in this shit-hole are really curious about, where the things you kept shrieking over and over again in your sleep." August felt her stomach constrict in knots. Envy suddenly laughed crazily as his voice changed.

"_**Please stop, dad, please stop hurting me…please stop hitting big sister too, it's not her fault mom died. Please, its mine, all my fault..." **_

"… _**I don't want to dad it feels bad not good…it h-hurt so much."**_

"_**I don't want to do it, I don't want to, don't make me do that please DADDY!" **_

August could do nothing as her voice passed through the deranged man's lips as he mimicked her nightmares word per painstaking word. She was shaking, her eyes had constricted to mere pinpoints of jade as she stared at the man's cruel show of on fears. Envy grinned victoriously as he crouched down at eye level and whispered to the child. She was right there! She was ready to be thrown off the deep ends by her own memories, with his professional performance that is.

"So disgusting you and your broken little family were. Honestly, how does it feel for you now that your sister is dead, your mother has _been_ dead from what I gather, and that shitty father of yours had his fun by-" Without warning a soft pressure on his mouth cut the homunculus off.

August clamped her shaking hands firmly over Envy's mouth as he gaped in shock at the unexpected move.

A beat later and the harsh sound of bone cracking and blood spattering echoed in the room. Envy pulled back his bloodied fist and observed his spur of the moment handiwork. He suddenly paled.

"Shit! How the hell am I going to explain this one to Dante!" He mumbled to himself while the girl's hands still covered his mouth. He narrowed his eyes. Stubborn little shit!

Despite himself wanting to continue pounding the living daylights out of August, he gently lower the girl's hands from his mouth and had garbed the her chin, bring it closer for a inspection.

After the initial shock of the brat slamming her hands over his mouth, Envy had punched her face and had broken her nose at the very least. Blood had splattered everywhere. He growled angrily.

"Damn it you little brat, look what you did!" He hissed as quietly as he could. August said nothing as she stared blankly at him. She gently cupped her bleeding nose as it dripped blood through her fingers and onto her nightshirt. The little girl broke eye contact and looked down to the floor.

"Pathetic."

Envy growled again when she broke eye contact and grunted in disgust as he turned to leave yet again. He suddenly stiffened as he felt small fingers grab his skort, just above his Ouroboros tattoo. His fist bloodied fist curled on instinct as he turned slightly to glare at the brat from the corner of his narrowed eye.

She peered at him through her sweat soaked hair and held his hostile gaze. She muttered something unintelligible.

"If you want to be heard brat, then speak up!" He barked, sick of the weakness being displayed before him.

"Thank you…" August breathed as she sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, wary of another blow. "I needed to hear that. I needed someone to tell me the truth…no matter how much it hurts…" she mumbled the last part under her breath.

Silence greeted her ears for the longest moment before she waited for the inevitable grunt of disgust or punch to the stomach. Nothing happened as the black fabric beneath her fingers suddenly slipped away.

"Go to bed brat." Envy grunted as he tore his skort away from the slim fingers and swiftly walked to the door. "…and don't tell anyone about this either, or next time I'll break more than just your nose."

"But what's your name?" August slurred as she rubbed her eye tiredly and leaned against the bedpost. Envy rolled his eyes as he looked over at her tired frame.

"Still? Persistent brat. Fine, it's Envy." August blinked curiosity, never before hearing such a strange thing.

"Oh, well ok …goodnight then Envy" August yawned as she walked over to the bed and crawled into it. She wasn't worried about the bleeding, since the blood flow had stopped already. August curled into a ball and in a few minutes fell into a dreamless and painless sleep.

Envy had leaned against the doorframe as he watched this. He waited until the brat's breathing had evened out, a sure sign that she was asleep, and finally left, closing the door with uncharacteristic quietness.

"Damn that human brat." Envy scowled as he stalked down the pitch-black hallway. "What the hell is wrong with her? Acting all friendly and shit even after I broke her nose; and what was that about wanting to know my name so badly? Tch! She _should_ be angry, upset, she should have started crying like a baby; after all, all humans are the same…so why hadn't she?" Envy hadn't even realized he had continued walking until he realized he was outside, underneath a full moon. He crossed his arms.

"Why am I so pissed? I don't care, so what the hell!" His expression blackened as he glared back at the mansion behind him, at a certain window in particularly.

"Dumb brat! Stupid human! I hate you!" He hissed out his annoyance to the cold, windless, night as he stalked away into the forest yet again.

* * *

Bonus Scene: Getting what's coming to you

Flashback:

**'**_**Even if that means keeping a constant visual on the brat.'**_

**Envy felt a shiver crawl up his spine as his face twisted in an almost comical expression of repulsion mixed with horror. He just had a feeling he had sold his soul to the devil.**

At the same time:

Somewhere in the beyond the pearly white gates a young soul was laughing hysterically. June wiped away a tear of mirth as she struggled to keep from doubling over in laughter again.

"Oh, you poor, poor, fool. You have NO idea what you're in for. June whispered before throwing back her head and cackling ruthlessly.

"Give him HELL my little August Rush. GIVE HIM HELL!

...

Somewhere in Dante's manor, wrapped in a nest of cozy blankets, August suddenly felt a cold chill pass her by. August twitched her nose and furrowed her eyebrows. The little girl smiled wickedly in her sleep and giggled mischievously as she rolled over and nestled further into the comforter.

...

Lust shivered as she suddenly felt a cold chill pass through her. The busty sin frowned as she glanced around. Next to her Gluttony gave a little whine as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Lust did you feel that?" The two sins stood still on the deserted street. They shivered at the sudden overwhelming feeling of impending doom hovering over them. Lust shivered once before closing her eyes before continuing down the sidewall.

"Lust-"

"Ignore it Gluttony...just ignore it."

* * *

Lol, I don't know why, but I got a crack out of that bonus section. I sincerely hope all of you lovely readers have enjoyed this chapter. Message me if you have any questions or, if you it suits you fancy, please review. Thank you for those that have offered your continued support. Please, keep on reading. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, lovely people who are giving this story a chance. Here is another chapter.

On another unrelated note: For those of you that wonder when this story when follow canon. My answer for you is simply and completely this. 'Yes, 100% of the way', believe me. Though first things are first, and you might have to wait a bit longer to see Ed ad Al.

So without further ado, here is chapter six.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Missing Burden

_(Previously)_

**Go to bed brat." Envy grunted as he tore his skort away from the slim fingers and swiftly walked to the door. "…and don't tell anyone about this either, or next time I'll break more than just your nose." **

"**But what's your name?" August slurred as she rubbed her eye tiredly and leaned against the bedpost. Envy rolled his eyes as he looked over at her tired frame. **

"**Still? Persistent brat. Fine, it's Envy." August blinked curiosity, never before hearing such a strange thing. **

"**Oh, well ok …goodnight then Envy" August yawned as she walked over to the bed and crawled into it. She wasn't worried about the bleeding, since the blood flow had stopped already. August curled into a ball and in a few minutes fell into a dreamless and painless sleep.**

…

"**Dumb brat! Stupid human! I hate you!" Envy hissed out his annoyance to the cold, windless, night as he stalked away into the forest yet again. **

…

_(6 months later)_

"Damn you, you brat, get back here!"

Many men paused in the mist of their work as looked up; some women glanced up from their own business or merely peered curiously through their windows; and a few scattered children clutched at their mother's skirts in fear of the livid voice as everyone stared openly at the unusual scene unfolding before them.

"Envy you are making a scene" A boldly shaped woman with luscious raven hair, covered by a large dark cloak that did nothing to hide her incredibly feminine body, remarked as she approached a rather tall but well-built man with equally dark hair, tan skin, and a growing beard, dressed in a blue guards-men uniform. A rather conspicuously dressed Gluttony strolled by his female companion's side with a rather hungry yet clueless look about him as he sucked his fingertips. A large, tent like, cloak disguised him over his lumbering frame, and a poorly placed cap was perched atop his head.

"Like I care"

The disgruntled homunculus remarked as he whirled on his companion. Lust felt amused to find a spark of strained patience, among the overwhelming amount of dark annoyance, flitter across his constantly color shifting eyes, as they shifted from the fake shade of sky blue to his normal raging violet.

She smirked at him. Lust quickly realized a quirk that Envy seemed to have recently acquired with his powers; if the shape shifter became annoyed enough, his concentration would slip in the form of his eye color.

_'How interesting'_, Lust mused as she looked past him towards the shape shifter's greatest source of current frustration.

Envy scowled at her and turned back to the more pressing situation at hand.

A little ways off, down the dirt street, was a crowd that had gathered to surround a small figure sitting on the dirt road, drawing strange symbols in the dirt ground. After a brief pause the child quickly clapped her small hands together and let them fall upon the in the center of the dirt drawn alchemic circle. With a flash of blue light and a faintly audible crackling noise, the once shattered marble statue that had been in the center of the circle, was fixed now stood proudly amongst the crowd of onlookers. The crowd mumbled and whispered in shock, amazement, and a smudge of fear as the young, little, alchemist stood and dusted herself off.

Suddenly a large burly man emerged from the crowd and knelt at eye level with the child alchemist. The man's old, hardened, rugged, features had a look of bewilderment and amusement as he leaned down to stare the child in the eye. August didn't flinch as he leaned in but watched warily.

After a tense moment the serious man's face split into a wide, gold tooth, grin as he patted the child on the head and stood, thanking her for saving his precious merchandise. She grinned shyly and scratched her auburn locks sheepishly.

Lust crossed her arms and raised a brow as she observed the scene.

"Hm. Master was right about this child, she certainly is a little prodigy…" She cast a sideways glance at the fuming Envy.

"…and might I add, quite the escape artist too." Envy quickly caught the smug expression on the female sin's face and he uncharacteristic glowered at her.

"Shut. Up." He seethed as he too crossed his arms, fuming about the brat's newest escapee stunt.

In the last six months since August became Dante's apprentice, her talents and hidden abilities had improved drastically. Due to the frightening furious pace of alchemic training Dante had mercilessly had placed on little girl, the August had become beyond talented for her years.

For what it would have normally taken for an average adult to learn, study, apply, and practice the basics of alchemy with notable results, two to three years, August had completed in only half a year. Even though this came as a shock to everyone in the manor, it still was not enough to satisfy their master, as she pushed the little frail human harder and harder. Those that watched on, namely the homunculi, where expecting the child to break soon, whether from the mental and physical exhaustion or the emotional fatigue. Either or. They were simply waiting for when she would dispose of the human child.

Namely Envy.

It was even laughable to them for their master to expect so much from something so little. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for August, they were proven very wrong in their assumptions.

Lust sighed irritably as she watched Envy begin storming through the crowd and approached the girl. She shook her head in exasperation.

Really now, Lust wondered, what had the master been thinking when she allowed this ridiculous child to run errands for her in the first place, none the less in such a large place as Dublith?

Gluttony watched Lust curiously as she in turn watched Envy finally break through the sea of humans, much to his disgust, and quickly snatch up August before stalking down the street with a nervously fidgeting girl in tow.

Despite the girl's extreme intelligence and perseverance, the child seemed to have a talent for escaping their watch all to easily. Which infuriated the homunculi to no end, especially Envy.

Lust smirked once again and resisted to snigger as she noticed the girl's fearful expression and Envy's aggravated one as they rounded a corner. Lust frowned as she quickly followed after the two, wanting to prevent Envy from doing anything to hasty, naming butchering the human child, with a hungry Gluttony trialing behind her.

A loud thump could be heard echoing in the distance as August whined out in pain.

* * *

August groaned sadly as she walked along the road. The girl mumbled a few choice words as she massaged her aching head. It pounded from the coma inducing punches that Envy had so _graciously_ rewarded her with for her little stunt in the marketplace.

August huffed.

It wasn't her fault that she couldn't help but want fix that old man's statue. He had looked so petrified when the statue's long, white marble, arms and then lastly its delicately featured head, had cracked before falling clean off its body.

…that and the fact that _she_ had been the one that accidentally bumped into and knock the statue over, basically ruining what was probably a priceless treasure.

August grinned sheepishly and then chuckled as she remembered.

"Ow…" August whined when a fist suddenly came crashing down on top of her head, in the exact same spot as last time.

"What are you giggling about brat?" Envy hissed as August gently rubbed her bruised head where she could feel another large knot rising from her skull.

"Nothing, Nothing…" She muttered and proceeded to sulk. Envy narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"You better not be up to anything brat, or I swear you will never see the light of day again." He smirked when he noticed the child shiver.

August gimmicked as she shivered briefly in fear. She knew that she was on strict orders when Dante allowed her to run a few errands for her in Dublith. Go to the next big city, do this, do that, come back as quickly as possible. Those where her instructions, the same that she was being forced to do by the letter by the three figures trailing begrudgingly behind her. She frowned as she crossed her arms.

It really wasn't fair!

How could she be expected to simply ignore everything that this strange new world had to offer when she was never allowed outside. Heck, she rarely was let outside of the manor and had only been let into the deep woods twice to pick herbs.

August pouted slightly.

She had never, ever, been let into a town, and definitely not one this big!

The little girl shook her head as she tried in vain to stay focused on her tasks.

"What was it I had to get again?" She began listing the off her fingers.

"Um…salt, calcium, sulfur…that's three."

"uh… some ammonia…I think."

"eh…er…more metals and junk?" She groaned and face palmed herself.

"Oh great I forgot already" She whispered in alarm as she slowly turned to take a quick peek behind her.

They trio behind her looked bored as they surveyed their surroundings with cold indifference. Envy was glaring off into the distance, Lust was fiddling with her nails from boredom, and Gluttony watched her blankly. August breathed a sigh of relief. Either they hadn't heard her little slip up or they didn't care. She had hoped it was the latter.

After a moment August let her shoulders slump in defeat.

It was too hard for her to remember all of those ingredients when she was just too curious about this place!

"Oh boy I'm gonna get it if I make a mistake. Or worse, go back empty-handed…" She mumbled worriedly as she scanned the horizon. It looked around early noon. She took a deep breath and began walking again.

'_Well I better find that store anyways. If I remembered right it should be in the middle of the city'_ August mused as she tapped her chin in thought_. _

'_Hmm, but what was it called?'_ She spun around quickly.

"Hey Lust!" Said homunculus narrowed her eyes as the child ran up to her.

"Don't use my real name in public." August flinched slightly at the rebuke.

"Sorry… Solaris, but do you remember the name of the shop we're supposed to got to?" She asked carefully. Lust rolled her eyes.

"You've forgotten already. My, what a dimwitted child."

"Oh come on" August groaned "give me a break for once, please?" She pleaded with her hands outstretched. Lust raised an eyebrow.

This child was certainly strange. She knew that the child had been rather reluctant to communicate with _any_ of them at first, Master included, but this newfound ease that this odd human seem to suddenly have acquired around them was uncanny and slightly uncomfortable to say the least.

"…um…Lu-Solaris?" August waved a hand before her. Lust blinked, coming out of her thoughts as they child impatiently shifted from side to side, awaiting either an answer or another rebuke.

"The name of the store is Galileo's Goods, its owner is familiar with the Master's needs and keeps a separate stock ready for her." Lust spoke in a clipped tone as she turned away from the pondering child.

"So he already knows what she wants?" August asked in puzzlement only to see her informer walking away.

"She must visit him an awful lot then, wait…" A light bulb suddenly went off in the child's brain. She grinned wildly.

'_YES! The shop owner can just tell me what the old lady normally gets. I can tell him the list too and he can help fill in the blanks. I won't get busted, yes!'_

Anyone that happened to look her way in that moment would have seen the streaming tears of gratitude and sparkles of happiness that had seemed to suddenly engulf the giggling child. Those that did see this display backed up a few paces. Suddenly she stopped.

'_Wait, but I would still need a familiar face to prove who I am to the shop owner.' _August frowned.

'_Well, I can't have Lust or Envy there, they would definitely rat me out to the old lady.' _

"Hmmm…" August wondered as she tapped her foot impatiently.

'_I'll have to have Gluttony tag along then. I doubt he would tell, or even remember. Though, I'd probably have to keep him from trying to eat the shop owner.' _

She shivered, still uncomfortable with the knowledge of Gluttony's diet.

Still, nothing a little prick of alchemy won't do to scare him a little, though she did feel bad for doing that to the poor brute.

She knew he was afraid of his master's alchemy, and as a result he feared August's alchemy as well. She sighed. No time to regret take on Dante's teachings now.

Suddenly a tangible sense of wickedness clouded over the path. Pass buyers shivered in dread and continued quicker down the road. Abruptly a mischievous grin suddenly spread across the child's face, replacing the innocence one in seconds. She rubbed her hands together and her grin grew into a devilish smirk as she scanned the crowd until she found Envy and Lust, her unsuspecting prey.

"Now to get rid of those two…"

* * *

"Hello~ " A chipper voice sang.

Envy blinked as he turned around in numb surprise.

"Huh?" He blinked again as he saw that it was the brat. She was smiling widely at eye level with him. He looked down, wondering how that was possible. She had created a small dirt platform with alchemy to make up for the extreme height difference.

Figures.

He glanced back up and with a start he realized that she was only inches from his face. His confused expression turned to one of disgusted annoyance as he glared harshly at her cheerful smile.

"What the hell do you want!" He snapped.

August simply grinned wider, practically bearing her teeth at him.

"I'm trying to teach you to be nice today!" She sang as she waved her arms about wildly. Envy made an odd choking noise in the back of his throat as he stared oddly at her.

"And what makes you think I care" He responded while attempting not to gag from the girl's overactive cheeriness. He swore he had briefly seen sparkles floating around the child.

"Because _you_ need to be happy more!" August cheered, pumping her fists in the air excitedly.

"I'll be happy when you're dead. Now get out of my face!" He barked as he roughly pushed her off the platform. The little girl simply did a cart-wheel and quickly activated another circle she had made for such an event. In a flash she was standing face to face with the anger controlled homunculus once more. One of Envy's eyebrows gave an aggravated twitch.

"Sneaky little bitch" He grumbled as he gritted his teeth. August shook a finger in mock disapproval.

"Wrong, it's not being sneaky, its being prepared…Now smile, its time to be happy!" She smiled again and pointed to it, giving an example. He growled, willing himself not to stab her to death. His eyes briefly flashed from his disguise to their normal violet hue before he abruptly turned and began stalking away.

Envy paused as he passed an observing Lust.

"You deal with that _thing_" He seethed as he pointed back to a twirling, sparkling, August in the middle of the road.

Lust frowned in mild irritation and disgust.

"What on earth happened to her?"

"How the hell should I know!" Envy barked before quickly walking off. Lust growled softly as she watched the eldest homunculus disappeared, shrinking his responsibilities and leaving her with the annoying human twit.

"Hey L-Solaris!" Lust slowly turned around to find said insane child staring at her with large green doe eyes filled with pure innocence.

Like Envy, Lust wanted to gag.

"What" She answered, somewhat warily. August grinned as she pulled a large white flower from behind her back and held it out to her.

"Wanna put this in your hair? I bet it would look pretty~ !" Lust stared coldly down at the offering. After a brief pause the flower suddenly fell to the ground, cut in half. August blinked.

Lust began to walk away.

August merely blinked again, turning to stare at Lust's retreating form and then back down to the decapitated flower. She had sworn she had seen her fingernails shrinking as she left.

One of August's eyebrows twitched.

"She's good..."

Lust continued swiftly walking away as far as she could from the child's revolting acts of kindness. She passed a clueless Gluttony on her way.

"Gluttony watch the child until she finishes her tasks, then come find me. Do not eat anything while I am gone." A like a puff of smoke, Lust was gone as well.

Gluttony stopped sucking on his finger and blinked, and then blinked again. He turned down the road to stare at August with a somewhat sad expression but baffled expression.

"You made Lust leave." He sniffed tearfully as he approached the girl uneasily. August finally stopped staring at the dead flower and looked to the chubby sin. She sighed heavily.

"Sorry, but I needed to. I need your help with something and they couldn't be around" She confessed, feeling guilty for the lost expression on his face. If August hadn't known better, she would have thought of him as nothing but a little lost puppy without his owner. That ate people of course…

"But-But you made my Lust leave" He still looked sad. August groaned as she hit her head, her nagging conscious was threating to crush her.

"I'm sorry, I really am" August apologized. "But tell you what, I'll finish what I have to do as quick as I can and then I'll make you a HUGE cake when we get back, alright?" Gluttony's stomach rumbled with the mention of food.

"Really" He asked, perking up a bit. August grinned.

"Yep! A gigantic cake with as much frosting as you what." Gluttony grinned as well but then paused.

"Oh, oh, can you make it any flavor?"

"Sure" August smiled cheerfully.

"Can you make it human flavored?!" August froze, the cheerful expression still plastered to her face, though her eyes widened in terror. She twitched subconsciously in fright before swallowing the rising lump of terror in her throat.

"Umm… I c-can t-t-try?" She squeaked out miserably, terrified of the prospect. Gluttony practically beamed in delight.

"Ok!" He grinned widely as he came to stand closer to her, all pervious trepidation for her gone.

If August had half a mind at the moment she would have been startled to see just how much taller and _bigger_ the ravenous sin was compared to her puny stature, as she was a tad short and a bit too skinny, and it would have only added to the child's growing unease. But as fate would have it, the poor child was already too frazzled about her promise to Gluttony to even take any notice.

She continued down the road slowly as she continued shivering in disgust and fear as she contemplated aloud how to make a regular cake taste like a person.

Gluttony trialed behind her happily as he ignored her inner turmoil, or simply did not notice, and sniffed the air hungrily. His stomach growled as he stared wistfully at the crowd of humans before him, and he whined slightly before patting his stomach. He sighed sadly.

Lust had said no snacks, and Gluttony would always obey her no matter what.

…

August sighed before yawning at the bright afternoon sky. She rubbed an eye tiredly with her fists as she ready to leave 'Galileo's Goods' shop for good. The little girl sat on the shop's dusty front porch and waited for the shop's owner, his name was Galileo, not surprising, to finish packing her supplies so she could finally go back to the manor.

August groaned as she continued swinging her legs and watched the street disinterestedly. Gluttony sat near by, at the bottom of the porch steps, and was content to stare off into space all while sucking his fingers absent-mindedly.

After using him as prove of her identity as Dante's student and getting the shop keeper to help her in sorting through the supplies list, August had quickly told Gluttony to wait outside, not trusting the hungry and slightly drooling looks he was giving the man.

She groaned again as she flopped back on the wooden porch, switching her view of the street with the equally boring view of a cloudless sky. Her long auburn hair fanned out around her as she stared at nothing, feeling the crushing blow of boredom.

"Good grief, how long is this gonna take?" She gripped. It had been close to an hour and half now and the man was still finishing checking off her list.

_'Phf! He said it would only take a few minutes, not hours!'_

Defeated, August closed her eyes as she took that opportunity to snooze for a few moments.

"HEH-YA KID!"

"AHHH!"

Startled, August yelped at the booming voice in her ear and sprang away, only to tumble comically down the short porch steps and land face first on the gritty dirt ground.

Beat red in either embarrassment or anger August sat up and looked up. The shop owner, Galileo, was laughing hysterically, as Gluttony looked down at her in confusion, wondering why she was down there. She growled and then pouted when it only made the man laugh more and clutch his splitting sides.

"What the hell…" She muttered grumpily.

"Heh ha! Oh that was good kid, one of the best reactions I've seen yet!" He chuckled as he wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. August simply stood and dusted herself off before crossing her arms and looked away shyly, clearly embarrassed.

"Ah don't be embarrassed girl!" The man spoke good-naturedly.

"Oh yea! Here you are, all the stuff on that damn long list!" He suddenly grinned as he produced quite a few large, bulky, heavy duffel bags over his shoulders. August nearly felt her eyes pop out of her skull.

The list hadn't been _that_ long, had it!?

Galileo smiled guilty at her flabbergasted expression.

"I added a few things that I'm sure Ms. Dante would be wanting by now. Don't worry they're free of charge" He winked happily at her. August smiled shyly, both surprised at his generosity and his unusual thoughtfulness.

"W-wow t-thank you!" August stuttered as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. This level of selflessness was really a novelty to her.

She wasn't really used to ever having this level of kindness given to her before.

_'Especially in these last few months…'_ August mused darkly.

Galileo smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair a little, noticing the sudden mood change and thinking it was somewhat cute. Loud and bold one minute then shy and timid the next.

"Alright, well you were my last customer today." The perpetually smiling man suddenly stretched.

"Huh?" August answered smartly.

"Yea, you see I got somewhere where the Misses is expectin me soon, and I ought to not be disappointing her now." He spoke rapidly as he dropped her bags and quickly produced a large set of keys from the baggy overcoat that August had sworn that wasn't there a minute ago.

"I'm sure you got these, after all you got this big fella over here" He said as he pointed first to the bags and then to a clueless Gluttony.

"See ya kid! Feel free to stop by whenever you want!" He waved cheerfully as he hoped down the steps, practically skipping over Gluttony, and turned to leave.

"Oh before I forget…" The bearded man paused in mid-step and turned to view her from the corner of his eye. His normally cheerful disposition was gone and instead replaced by a serious expression and somber tone.

"Watch out for yourself girl, there's been a lot of funny stuff happenin in town lately, especially at night, ya hear me. Lot of kids like you have been just up and disapperin, and it's a down right shame."

His strong grey eyes suddenly seemed saddened as he broke eye contact for a moment and stared down the now vacant street.

August watched him curiously before something dawned on her.

In the shop she had noticed the many picture frames lying all around the place. One in particular that had caught her short attention span had the same Galileo, although abet younger, a stiff looking woman with warm but sharp eyes that stood proudly in his embrace, and a pretty young woman sitting in front of both of them with a bouncing, giggling, toddler dressed in a large yellow summer dress with white daisies and pigtails.

The obvious connection between the four was clear as the child laughed and reached with her pudgy arms to hug her mother's slim neck; said woman appeared to be laughing at the zealous embrace; the stiffer older woman was looking down at them with a scolding look but at the same time appeared to be biting back a large grin; and Galileo was watching them all with a with such a tender loving gaze and a small smile of his own.

The family portrait had made August's heart swell painfully and clench her hands into fists before quickly turning away. It brought up too many memories of her own family for her to handle all at once. She had felt slightly ill after that.

'_That must have been his family. I wonder what happened…' _

"Is that what happened to your family?" She felt the words tumble out before she could stop them and she clapped a hand sharply over her big mouth.

'_No, Stupid! Bad August!'_ She harshly scolded herself mentally. Galileo looked surprised as he turned to look at her fully this time.

"Aye, you must have saw that picture then…hmm you're a sharp little thing aren't you?" His grin didn't reach his eyes this time.

"Ya, a few weeks ago my littlest one, me tiny grand-daughter, went to go run an errand for me and never came back…" He took a deep breath and looked to the afternoon sky.

"She was the first of the children to go missin…" He muttered sadly. "Poor thing, she was just finishing ajustin to her mama's absence and then…this"

The poor man looked so wretched as he finished. August had a sinking feeling that she knew all to well what kind of 'absence' he was referring to.

"Her mother… how did she…die?" She asked as hesitantly as she could, fearing the answer as her chest tightened.

"…Illness. It came from nowhere and killed a couple of others too… but it was so slow and terrifying, just havin to watch her waste away like that. She was so strong, never talked about it, helped everyone with everything as much as she could, and she fought so hard until the very end but-"

He didn't get to finish as he felt something collide with his legs.

Stunned, Galileo blinked through his tears, that had falling slowly and silently, and peered down at the child clinging to his waist. He was shocked to feel hot tears soak into his pant leg as she cried on him. Feeling like a grandfather once more he detached her from his leg and crouched down in front of the child before.

"Aw don't cry kiddo, I didn't mean for this old man's sob story to get you all worked up" He muttered as he patted her head gently.

"N-no it's j-just reminded me of my…I'm sorry I'm so s-sorry!" She sobbed and then hiccupped. The man stared at her in bewilderment as he contemplated something. He then smiled crookedly at her.

"Ah, I get it now. It's the same for you too isn't it, you lost someone that way." He spoke making it a statement instead of a question.

"I can see it in you, the same pain, the same loss. It's all in those big, old, green eyes you got."

True to his word, August glanced up at him, her irritated mint green eyes were practically glowing in the fading sunlight; they almost looked unnatural.

"Your story may different from mind kid, but if ever need it, I'll be here to lend you an ear and a shoulder to cry on."

"W-why...why are you being so nice to me?" August muttered as she struggled to stop crying and clear her tear-stained face. He shook his head.

"Ever hear the saying 'Misery loves company'? A kid like you shouldn't have to feel like this and keep it all deep inside of ya. Trust me this old man knows." He grinned crookedly.

"Beside you remind me of my grand-daughter a bit." August smiled bleakly and nodded as she took a step back.

"Alright…thanks Mr. Galileo"

He laughed.

"Don't be callin me 'Mr.' kid it makes me feel too old! Just call me plain, old, Galileo. Got it kid?" She chuckled, his good mood was restored and his grief was at minimal. It made her's bearable.

"Yes"

"Good." Galileo glanced at his pocket watch and jumped up in terrified surprise.

"Gah! Look at the time! The wife's gonna have my head! I gotta go kid. Remember watch yourself and stop by anytime!"

The energetic shopkeeper yelled comically as he sped down the road, a dirt cloud following in his wake as he sprinted away. August stared blankly after him before bursting out in laughter.

'_What a wired character'_ She chuckled as she stood straight.

"Hey Gluttony, grab those bags and let's get out of here" She called over to the pudgy simpleton as he had observed the entire scene with a slightly curious gaze.

He obeyed and soon August was the one now trailing behind, as Gluttony began sniffing around, quickly picking up on his Lust's scent. He happily trotted along as he weaved around various alleys and buildings as he continued hunting Lust's trial with August running to keep up.

Despite his heavy stature and the multiple bags, he was pretty _fast_!

August huffed as she struggled to keep up with him.

"Hey Gluttony, slow down a bit, I'm losing you!" She called out to him, clearly ahead of her.

He either ignored her or simply didn't register what she had said as he continued in his frenzy to find his female companion. He took a sharp turn into a dark alley, and after a couple of moments August followed down the same path.

She was surprised to not see him anymore.

Was she really that far behind? Or had she taken a wrong turn? Oh boy…

She sighed heavily as she leaned against the brick wall and tried to catch her breath.

"Good grief, how is he _that_ fast!" She exclaimed, wondering how he was possibly defying physics like that.

Then again Physics wasn't exactly her strong suit as much as Alchemy was…

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh well" She yawned as she looked up, noticing that the sun had just set and that twilight was upon her.

"That's no good. Old man Galileo said not to be out at night. Something about kids disappearing" She mused as she wiped her brow.

"How right he is…" An unfamiliar, deep, voice chuckled from behind her.

August felt her heart skip a beat in surprise and then dread. She spun around towards the exit, ready to run as her flight or fight instincts kicked in.

Suddenly she felt something grab her hair and drag her backwards into the alley. She tried to scream but a large hand clamped over her mouth and another one threw a blindfold over her eyes.

"Where are you going girly?" She shivered and held back the urge to whimper.

August struggled wildly as she stomped on her attacker's foot and drove her sharp, little, elbow into his gut. She heard the man grunt in pain and the hand over mouth loosened. August ripped away from it and bit down as hard as she could. She tasted the coppery scent of blood as she sank her sharp child-like teeth into flesh.

"GLUTTO-"

The man howled out in pain and before August knew it she felt her head being smashed into the brick wall. The world went dark for a moment and August felt herself hit the hard ground as the meaty hands dropped her. She moaned painfully as she felt something warm and wet slid down her temple. Her eyes refused to budge.

Suddenly a loud laugh grated against her eardrums as its echo bounced all over the alley.

"Damn" She heard someone new whistle.

"You didn't need to go that far did you man? I mean look at her, she's just a tiny thing" The new man laughed as she heard the same voice from voice curse angrily.

"Oh shut up! Look my hand, this one's a little devil I tell you. She teeth like a chimera!"

"Ha ha, you're over exaggerating man, seriously look at her. It looks like you knocked her out cold with smashing her skull into the wall. Honestly, you should have more class with women." The new voice tsked his friend as August suddenly felt someone pick her up. She distinctly heard the first voice snort.

"It's a brat, not a woman. If she was I'd have a little fun before we took her back." August felt her mind pause at the lewd suggestion and shivered again.

"Ah, what are beast you truly are..." She was suddenly glad for the new stranger that was carrying her as opposed to the one from before. She felt someone faintly pulled her hair back.

"Oh? But haven't you had a look at this one? She is quite the cutie. Such a pretty like face"

She took it back, they were both as bad.

"So?"

August briefly felt the second man start stand and then press a wet cloth, that smelled so sickly sweet it would have normally made her gag, under her nose. It was making her mind fuzzy.

'_Chloroform'_ She realized faintly from the many chemicals Dante had introduced her to.

"That means that she's sell for a good price, stupid. Now hurry up and fix your hand so we can get out of here and get back to Central."

That, and the first man swearing some more, were the last things August thought she heard as she felt sleep claim her.

…

"Lust!" "Lust!" "Lust!" Gluttony yelled as he entered in the room where his trail ended. She was sitting in a lone booth by the far back corner.

Said female sin turned in her booth from her listless observation of the shabby, little, restaurant she had found herself waiting in and watched as Gluttony came barreling towards her.

He had no regard for his actions as he nearly flatten three humans in his quickened attempt to reach his beloved partner.

Lust quirked a brow when Gluttony came closer and finally stopped before her. She had to raise an eyebrow at the strange array of bags that he carried on his arms. The scene was like curtains hanging from a pole.

"Gluttony…what is this?" She gestures to his luggage.

He blinked, confused as he looked at his arms, looking as he had just noticed the extra weight and then puzzled for a moment as he tried to remember the just _why_ he had carried them.

"Um…" He stood there for a moment placing a finger to his chin as he struggled to think. It wasn't one of his strong suits.

Lust rolled her eyes.

She should have expected this.

She knew Gluttony wouldn't even have been able to remember the simplest of things, nonetheless remember the reason behind the action. Unless it directly involved food, it remained beyond his intelligence.

Not that she minded of course.

It proved very useful when he blindly obeyed and followed her instructions, and occasionally a direct order from the Master.

_'Maybe this is somehow the child's doing…'_

Lust came up short.

Gluttony frowned as she abruptly stood from her seat.

"Gluttony where is the human child?" Lust scanned the room, and then the road beyond the windows.

No sign of her.

"Uh…um…I-um"

_"Gluttony"_ Lust spoke in a warning tone. The normally placid voice she used with him now had a cold edge to it.

Gluttony whimpered sadly. Lust was angry with him.

"Where is she Gluttony?"

"Um-I don't know" He crouched into himself and sat on the floor miserably. He hadn't meant to make Lust mad at him.

Lust emitted a sound halfway between a growl and a sigh. She had to be more patient with him, otherwise she would never get anything useful from the slobbering sin.

"Gluttony" Lust spoke as patiently as a she possibly could. "Think, where was the last place you saw her."

"Well... I was following your scent, and I remember seeing her after we left that smelly human's shop, and it was before I found you." He concluded as he though as hard as he could.

Lust crossed her arms as she soundlessly stepped out of the restaurant and out into the cooling twilight. Gluttony trailed hesitantly behind her clicking heels.

"Lust…" Gluttony whimpered. "Are you mad?"

Lust took a minute to compose her self and refrain from snapping at the pudgy simpleton.

"…No. I should have realized something like this might have happened when I left you alone." Thought it was an insult though and though, the hungry sin simply grinned. His Lust wasn't mad at him after all!

"But…regardless of it being your or anyone else's fault. We simply cannot return to Master without her. She is her pet project after all."

Lust glared down at him.

"Find her Gluttony" She commanded indifferently.

His grin widened. His oddly white smile seemed eerie in the vanishing sunlight.

"Ok" He nodded and sniffed the night air. He immediately set to working on finding and following the little girl's scent.

* * *

The afternoon long gone and it was well into the night as duo continued searching.

"Lust I'm worried, what if something happened? What will Master do to us?"

Lust merely scoffed.

"Don't worry Gluttony. She is nothing more than a stupid human child. She is probably only lost."

_"Who's lost?"_ A haughty voice remarked as they step forth from the shadows.

Lust narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Envy, where were you?"

Said shape shifter smirked.

"Who little old me? I was just rioting up some pathetic humans at some seedy little bar. Nothing much." He grinned. Lust refrained from scowling at him.

"So, what are you two doing now, wandering around here? I would have thought you would have stayed at the Maser's mansion." Lust frowned.

"We never left Dublith" This time it was Envy's turn to frown.

"…What?"

"Take a look around Envy, what do you see missing?" Lust spoke slowly, her tone sounding as if she were communicating with a practically dim-witted child, though her words were dripping with venom.

He blinked and shrugged, completely bypassing her thinly veiled annoyance. "What are you getting at Lust?"

Lust shook her head.

"The girl, Envy"

His eyes widened for a second before he shot her a frosty glare.

"Weren't you two supposed to be watching her! How could you possibly lose one pathetic, little, insect" He snapped. Gluttony whimpered and hid slightly behind Lust.

Lust merely raised an eyebrow at his hostile accusation.

"She was not our responsibility Envy, she was yours"

_"What did you say?_" He hissed dangerously.

"Lust-"

"Not now Gluttony" Lust sharply reprimanded him as she matched Envy's icy glare with one of her own.

"The well-being of that child fell to you, and you alone. Master placed _you _specifically in charge of watching over her. The consequences for failing will be on your shoulders, not on Gluttony's or mine" Lust challenged as she crossed her arms under her ample chest.

Envy stood completely still, rotted to the spot as the wheels in his mind began to whirl. His long hair fell into his eyes and hide them from view. Inwardly Lust felt the faintest spark of unease. It was not like Envy to stay quiet after a remark like _that_.

"Lust", Lust felt chubby fingers tugging at her dress.

"What Gluttony" She replied uninterestedly.

"Something's wrong Lust" She frowned again as she glanced down at her clearly troubled partner.

"What is it"

"The scent. The scent, it's almost gone...and its smells funny." Gluttony trialed off, he was clearly anxious to how she would take the news as he shuffled from foot to foot.

"What do you mean by that Gluttony" She pressed as Envy's head snapped up.

"Um…" Gluttony hesitated and looked nervous as he caught the oldest homunculus' stare.

"Spit it out fat-ass" Envy barked aggressively.

Lust glared back at him in warning. He shot her a withering look in response.

"It smells like the girl, but there are two other smells too"

"There where two other people?"

"What did they smell like? Human?" He nodded.

"One does, but the other smells too funny to tell." Gluttony sniffed the road again.

" It smells…like…um, a dog? A big dog, but he smells like a human too." He shuffled uncomfortably at his kin's intense stares before shaking his head.

"Well, which one is it. A dog or a human?" Envy rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his sharp hips.

"I don't know" Gluttony whined as he slumped dejectedly. Lust sighed. She patted his head comfortingly.

"That's good for now Gluttony" He smiled happily at her.

"It was probably a chimera" Lust suggested casually as she looked over her shoulder.

"What are you planning Envy?"

Said sin didn't respond. He glared straight ahead, ignoring her question, as if trying to recall something. After a minute's pause he rounded on Gluttony.

"Show me where the scent was strongest tubby." He barked sharply.

Gluttony paused before looking left, then right, and then sniffing the night air as a cold breeze blew by.

"Um, that way" He pointed and began to run towards it. Envy and Lust followed without a word. After a few minutes they arrived at an alley.

"In here" Gluttony responded as he stepped into the shaded alleyway.

Though the alley was drenched in shadows, it was no match for the homunculi's inhuman eyesight. The alley was bare expect for two small browning patches that looked suspiciously like blood.

Gluttony first sniffed the patch on the ground and wrinkled his nose in confusion. It was the dog-man's.

"No" He seemed to mutter to himself as he ran over to the other stain on the brick wall. He sniffed it curiously.

"Well?" Envy prompted.

Gluttony paused. Suddenly he licked it.

Lust and Envy both blinked, torn between confusion and disgust.

He abruptly smiled.

"Yes, this is hers. Yum, so tasty…" Gluttony whined as he licked his lips hungrily.

"Focus Gluttony. Find the scent again" Lust commanded him.

He nodded obediently as he sniffed the night air again. He immediately whirled around and pointed in a random direction.

"That way. They all went that way" He nodded.

"What do you mean all of them?" Envy questioned angrily. Lust chuckled behind him.

"Well then, it appears your charge has been kidnapped Envy" Lust smirked tauntingly as he snarled.

"WHAT!"

"Honestly Envy, haven't you heard anything at all of all the children that have gone missing in all the big cities? It's been some news for quite a while now." He whirled around to face her, his nostrils flared.

"You knew about something like that and you didn't even bother to mention it!"

"The situation never arose where such a thing would be useful, besides this is again your responsibility, not mine."

"Well that information is damn useless NOW!" He shouted. She sighed irritability, fed up with his excessive yelling.

"Will you stay here all night arguing with me or are you going to rescue your little lost charge?" She smirked devilishly. Envy snarled before whirling around to glare at Gluttony.

"Which way did they go again" He hissed dementedly.

Gluttony gulped as he sensed the murderous aura around Envy and pointed again in the direction of the scent trail.

"North?" Lust mused.

"Central" Envy growled.

Lust and Gluttony both looked taken a back as they stared at the shape-shifter.

"Why would you presume Central?" Lust scoffed as she raised an eyebrow.

"Back in the seedy human bar I went to. I remember there were a couple of drunk humans talking about scouting around Dublith for anything else that could be _valuable_ to take back with them to Central. They kept hitting this bag next to them as they talked or something"

He spat as he glared heatedly at the blood splatter, the gears in his mind were at full swing again.

He really, really, _really, _wanted to go back to that bar and kill them all. His arm itched to hit something in his frustration.

He growled as he punched the wall and closed his eyes.

This was _all_ the brat's fault.

_...And he would make sure to beat her within an inch of her life when he got her back._

His violet eyes snapped open as he grinned wickedly.

Envy turned back to Lust as she finished reminding him yet again of what he already knew.

"It would make sense if they were the ones going around and picking up any street urchins that they could find wandering around alone. As far as them considering those little miserable creatures to be valuable, they must be planning to use them for something." Lust calmly concluded as her mind reviewed the future possibilities.

She suddenly paused.

"Wait, Envy…you said they had a large bag next to them?"

Envy blinked, then frowned as he raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Yea so, what does that have to do with anything?"

"You say that they had kept hitting the bag?" Lust questioned him slowly, wondering when he would realize.

"Just what are you getting at Lust" He snapped, annoyed with the guessing game.

"…was the bag big enough to...hmm, let's say…hide a small child in it?"

Envy paused.

Lust held her breath.

Gluttony covered his ears.

A silent breeze blew through the quiet town street, which was abruptly shattered yet again by the same loud voice.

"…DAMNIT ALL!"

* * *

Well there you have it. I actually felt the need to split this particular event in half. It was becoming a monster of a chapter.

As well, for reasons I can't explain, I strove to add quite a bit of humor to this chapter, but keep the plot on task at the same time. Tsk strange...

On a related note: Brownie points if anyone guesses correctly what the tugs wanted from poor, little, August.

Please remember, reviews are always appreciated. If you would like to correct, advise, question or give your own suggestions then please feel free to PM my account. Thank you for reading. Hoped you enjoyed.

- Mara Gin


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone thank you for reading and/or sticking by my story. I believe that you would rather get to the chapter rather than hear about my sad excuses on being so late. So without further ado here is chapter seven. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Missing Burden (Part 2)

Darkness.

All darkness.

It was so dark that it was suffocating.

Suddenly breathing became a struggle.

Everything felt stiff, unmovable.

A small groan was all that broke the still silence as something stirred in the gloom.

'_What…what happened?'_

August blinked groggily as she came into consciousness once more from her slumber. The girl gritted her teeth as she quickly felt a sudden throbbing sensation grip her head. With a shaking hand she gingerly touched her temple. Immediately something wet and sticky slid over her fingertips as the little girl winced and probed her injured head further.

"Oowww" August moaned loudly as she opened her eyes, only to be meet with darkness. A chill suddenly crept up her spine as August shivered and hugged herself, all the while as goose bumps prickled her numbing arms.

"Where am I?" She wondered as she slowly sat up.

"And why is it so dark?" The little alchemist mumbled tiredly as she nursed her injured head in her small lap. August suppressed a yawn as she stretched lazily, the fatigue refusing to leave her exhausted form. She blinked a few more times as she tried in vain to chase away her clouded thoughts. Everything still felt too muddled and disoriented to her fog shrouded brain. August swayed from side-to-side, as she felt slightly sick.

Suddenly something moved from the corner of the shadows.

She froze, her heart beating loud and fast in her eardrums as all traces of fatigue were washed away and a tidal wave of realization crashed over her unsuspecting head. August gasped before clasping her hands around her obnoxiously loud mouth.

'_That's right! Those two men, they kidnapped me!'_ The little girl gave a quick glance around her surroundings.

She wasn't in that alley anymore, or that terribly itching and stuffy sack.

'_They took me and now I'm somewhere else' _She realized as she slowly uncovered her mouth.

"But where_…_?" She pondered as she stared into the inky blackness curiously.

Abruptly, the sound of footsteps sounded off behind her and the girl whirled around.

August held her breath as her heart had practically leapt into her throat.

Was it the men from before?

What where they going to do to her now? Where they going to kill her?

Should she run? Should she hide?

'_Hide where'_ August thought dryly as she braced herself for whatever would spring from the shadows.

She waited.

She strained her ears.

After a couple of minutes of nothing she relaxed slightly and scratched her head in confusion.

'_Did I really just imagined all that?'_ August wondered as she took a cautious step forward. She frowned.

She swore she could feel a gaze watching her from the shadows.

'_Guess not…'_

August looked around cautiously as she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Come out here and face me you bunch of _pansies_," August hissed after another eerie moment of silence.

Yes, pansies. She refused to curse unnecessarily as much as possible, not wanting to follow the bad habits of a certain sin.

She glared into the shadows.

Patience _really_ wasn't one of her strong suits.

After waiting again for another moment she moved towards where she thought she had heard the source of the noise.

Fine, if they wouldn't come to her, she would go to them.

August huffed as she stumbled through the darkness. She wouldn't let them surprise her again!

After blindly bumping into many walls and gracelessly tripping over nothing half a dozen times, August finally found the disturbance. She held in her gasp of surprise. There, a few feet in front of her was the similar outline of another child, though slightly smaller. The other figure was huddled against the wall and watched August with a wary gaze.

August remained still for a moment, both shocked and embarrassed that someone else had been here the whole time to witness all of her blunders, before speaking in a flurry of words.

"Hey, who are you? What's going on? Do you know where we are?" She pushed urgently as her fear and dread gnarled at her stomach. She needed answers. Now.

The smaller figure huddled deeper into the wall as they shielded themselves from her with a large, ragged, blanket. August was given no answer.

She sighed irritably as she too plopped onto the cold ground, a few feet away from the mystery figure. August openly stared at the other child for a moment before twirling her thumbs. She realized with a jolt, that they were terrified of her. August felt terrible.

She hadn't meant to frighten the poor thing; and judging by the look she was currently given, it seemed as if the other child was two steps away from having a full out panic attack.

She held her head in her hands as she felt a wave of guilt and sympathy cloud her conscious. She had seen that look for too many times on her own face before.

"Hey…Um, I'm sorry. I'm kind of scared too, you know, what with the kidnappings and all that stuff. I'm sorry and I didn't mean to scare you, it just when I get scared… I get confused too, and when I'm confused I can be a little mean, and when I am mean its because I'm usually nervous, and when I get nervous people tell me I tend to ramble on and on-"

August paused before slumping her shoulders in a defeated expression as it dawned on her. Her attempts at beginning a normal conversation had just blown up in her face.

"I'm doing it again…" She griped to herself. She could feel her cheeks rowing warm in embarrassment. Of all the things to do when being kidnapped, she goes ahead and makes a fool out of herself. Great. Just great.

A sudden, hoarse, but _girlish_ giggle broke the uncomfortable silence that lingered between the two as the stranger to her right began to shake slightly. August snapped her head up and gave a small grin.

'_So it is a girl!'_

But wait… was she laughing at her? Her face fell at that and then reddened further as August flushed in pure embarrassment.

It was one thing to act like an idiot, but to open your mouth and prove it was another thing entirely, and someone laughing at your idiocy just made it ten times worse.

August turned away as her face burned like the sun.

It wasn't her fault that she just got nervous around other people so easily.

She frowned thoughtfully.

Then again it wasn't like she had much social interaction where she had previously been held hostage either. August blinked.

Wait…had she even had any interaction between children near her own age since then? August's head swam as she tried to remember one single friend she had ever had with little to no success.

'_Wow…I'm deprived.' _

"Oh…" a voice trialed off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you"

August blinked again.

'_Huh?'_

"What?" Both body and mind answered distractedly. August turned to stare at this new comer.

With a start, she quickly realized that her eyes had already adjusted to the gloom, as she was able to observe the other girl carefully. She had sun-kissed skin, a blue colored sundress, and long, dark, hair crafted into a two long braids that were tied off with white ribbons and hung loosely over her small shoulders. Fearful, dark, brown, eyes observed her as well with an equal mix of child like curiosity and tested wariness. August studied her well. She was kind of familiar.

"Oh…um, I meant that you didn't. I always do stuff like that. It's kind of annoying." August grumbled the last part. The unknown girl's mouth twitched in a slow, shy, smile.

"Well I thought it was funny."

"Funny huh? Thanks then" August chuckled as she scratched the back of her head sheepishly. August abruptly frowned.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" The mystery girl shuffled uneasily for a minute before nodding her head.

"How long have I been down here?" The other girl blinked in surprise and scratched her chin thoughtfully. August bit her lip anxiously.

"Well… meal time came around two times since they put you down here with me. So I think um…around two days-"

'"Oh that's not so-WAIT WHAT!? TWO DAYS!" August suddenly yelled in alarm and dread.

Oh man, oh man, was she going to get it. The old woman would be fuming for sure!

"…M-maybe less" The other girl finished as she shrank away from August, a little frightened by her panicked outbursts again. August didn't hear her.

"Oh boy, she is going to kill me! I know it! I can feel it in my bones…" She muttered ominously as she hugged herself and shivered. A dark cloud of foreboding doom hovered over her small frame.

The other girl stared oddly at her as August continued muttering under her breathe.

"She'll skin my alive with alchemy…no wait- she'll let Envy do it…and maybe let Gluttony have my legs as a treat, I don't need them to do alchemy. Oh boy…"

She inwardly groaned at her stupidity before hitting her head in exasperation. Why did she get kidnapped in the first place?

Why did she have to be so stupid!

Why her!

Why!

'_It's all my fault!' _

"Um…" The little girl blinked, unsure about what was happening to her new cellmate as she watched her repeatedly hit her head against the wall.

August groaned as she finally stopped hitting her head.

"Well, that did nothing to help my headache" She muttered crossly as she glared at the wall. She quickly turned towards the mystery girl and waited a moment before practically leaping at her side.

"Please, please, please, I'm real sorry about scaring you but you need to tell me what's going on!" August begged as she shook the little figure next to her. The little girl's expression fell.

"I-I don't really know, I haven't been outside in a long time. I-I think we're in a big city though, I can hear a lot of city noise outside when it's supposed to be day time…" The little girl shrugged helplessly as she shyly hugged herself.

"A big city…" August muttered as she stood and leaned against the wall. "That sounds familiar somehow."

She rubbed her temples as something prickled the back of her mind. Maybe hitting her head against the wall _did_ do something for her.

Big city, Big city, Big city….

Green eyes snapped open as she grinned.

"Central! That's it we're in the city Central!" August beamed as she pumped her fist into the air excitedly. A pair of small hands suddenly clamped over her mouth.

"Shhh! You're being too loud, you don't want them to come down here." The little girl shivered, clearly terrified of the prospect. August frowned.

"Sorry…" She whispered sheepishly as she pried away the other girl's hands. August narrowed her eyes determinedly.

"But this is a start! I remember those men talking about going back to Central, and from what I know, Central is the biggest city there is around here." August concluded quietly before she bit her lip.

"What is it?" The little girl asked.

"Nothing. I'm just trying to figure out what this place is" She gestured to the empty room they we standing in.

"Oh? I know that one!" The mystery girl answered brightly, finally glad to be of some use.

"I heard two of the big, scary, men yelling at each other earlier today over who was going to feed the 'brats' in the cellar. So we must be in the cellar…what's a brat?" The little girl abruptly asked curiously. August tried not to flinch at the term. She had been called that one too many times by one to many people.

"Eh? Oh, um, I'll tell you later…But first lets get out of here" August smiled to herself as she began hunting around the room.

"W-what?" The girl choked out. "No, we can't get out the door is locked and even if we did how would we get pass those scary men…" She trailed off as she watched August continue running about the room. "What are you trying to do?"

August paused.

"I'm trying to find a little light so I can see what I'm doing. Help out here would you?"

The girl paused for minute beyond garbing August's hand and guiding her towards a corner in the back of the room, hidden by a few crates filled with unknown cargo.

"Sometimes there is a little bit of moonlight that leaks down here from there," The little girl pointed to a small, gated, window directly above them. August squinted as she looked up.

It really was impossible to reach, even by a normal man's standards, let alone to two little children. August grinned.

Not for her it wasn't!

"Perfect! Now, stand back I'm going to try something" August trialed off as she sank to her knees. The other little girl peered over her shoulder in curiously and stared the drawings scribbled in the thick dust.

"Um. What are you doing?" The brunette questioned as she watched August continue drawing in the large dirt circle. August smiled slightly as she kept working.

"I'm going to make an alchemic reaction. Simply put, I'm going to do some simple alchemy."

"Al-chem-y?" The little girl tried to pronounce the word as she rolled around with it on her tongue. "It sounds funny. What does it do?"

August's eyes brightened as she immediately launched into teaching mood.

"Well…this circle is called a 'transmutation' circle. It helps with harnessing and directing the flow of energy that makes the whole transmutation happen" August tapped the circle around her with her foot.

"And these are alchemic runes that can mean a lot of things-" She pointed to the simple design she had drawn in the circle.

"Like elemental components or symbols that represent certain concepts that are crucial to know, because in order to preform an act of alchemy you have to understand all the physics and chemistry behind that act. That's called analyzing. Every time someone does alchemy, they also need to know how to deconstruct the stuff they are working with by deconstructing the molecular chains and rearranging the bonds between them in order to reconstruct something totally different from what you originally had. What? Why are you looking at me that way?" August asked innocently as her new friend stared wide-eyed at her.

"…What?" She asked, completely at a loss for the knowledge that August had just unleashed upon her.

August sighed heavily. And here she thought that she would finally be able to teach something cool to someone.

'_Well she did get lost after trying to pronounce the word alchemy'_ She thought dully to herself. August sighed again as she finished and stood.

'_Guess I'm doomed to be a geek forever. Oh well…'_

"Basically…" She chuckled and then smirked as she walked casually out of the circle, while quickly ushered the girl away from the line of fire.

"…I can make things go BOOM!"

August cackled evilly as she clapped her hands together loudly and slammed onto the earth. Immediately the circle lit up in a fiery flash of blue. With a sound much too loud for her liking the ground within the circle gave way and plummeted into the sewer below.

"Opps."

Suddenly the sound of heavy, running, footfalls and startled male voices could be heard from above.

"Oh no, oh no! They heard us! They're coming!" The pigtails girl panicked as she looked up at the creaking floorboards in terror. August whirled around in alarm.

"Quick, run!" She commanded, grabbing the girl by the arm and flinging her towards the hole.

"But what do I do?" The girl cried out in fear and terror.

"Run and find a ladder or something leading up and out of the sewer, then get help!" August stepped over and quickly shook the girl's shoulders firmly but gently.

"Come on, you got to go. Now!"

The mummer of voices had grown steadily louder as they spoke and had alerted August that the men were getting closer.

"Wait, but what about you? You have to come! They'll kill you!" The little girl shouted in dismay. August smirked briefly.

"I doubt that, besides I can't. I need to seal this hole so that they can't follow you" Her smirk widened and she winked.

"Besides, I've faced much scarier people before. I can handle these chumps." August flashed the girl a victory pose before smiling warily, unable to keep the fear in her eyes contained any longer. The girl nodded sadly at August and then began carefully climbing down the mountain of rubble and into the sewers.

August watched her go for a moment before bending down to pick up a piece of sharp rubble, and with a loud grunt of pain she sliced open the three first fingers of her left hand. Blood streamed from the open wound as she gritted her teeth in pain before getting back to the task at hand. The little girl gasped in shock and she felt her tears flowed down her face as she watched her new friend run towards the two wooden doors and quickly drew a couple simple circles with her bloodied hand to alchemize them shut.

August had to concentrate for a long, crucial, moment before nodding at her success in merging the woodened panels together and running off to find anything she could barricade the door with. Her wounds stung. She could hear the men in the hall now.

August immediately ran back over to the manhole. The little girl had finally made it down at the bottom and was staring fearfully up at her.

"Are you alright!?" August fought the urge to smile and reassure the kind-hearted girl about her injury. Instead she shook her head and kept the serious glare plastered over her tense face.

"Alright, I got blow this thing up again, but this time I'm going to close it. Start running as fast as you can and remember to get help. Quick!" August stressed as she peered down at the girl. The other girl simply nodded as her tears streamed down her face.

"O-Ok-k" She cried. "S-stay safe. P-please?" She whimpered despairingly. August felt her resolve crumble and she gave her a crooked smile of reassurance.

"I will, so stop crying and run home as fast as you can. I'll be fine." The little girl sniffed and quickly wiped her nose. Her big, brown, doe eyes were still moist with unshed tears.

"P-promise?" She squeaked. August smiled determinedly. Inwardly she just had to wonder how much younger this girl was compared to her if _she_ was the one comforting _her_.

"I promise you, now run!" She urged as a loud banging suddenly erupted from the blocked doorway. Based on the amount of cursing August could hear from her vantage point from the way across the room, they were mad, extremely so when they realized the doors had somehow been barred.

With one final glance at her new friend and savior the little girl ran off into the dark tunnel, crying soundlessly as she searched for an exit. She didn't have to run long before discovering a ladder that led upwards into the street. Rays weak of morning light could be seen shining through the cracks from above.

Suddenly, the sewer erupted in noise as ear-splitting echoes bounded off the trembling walls.

The last thing the little girl heard was a tremendous explosion, that shook the very walls, and a terrifying roar followed by a loud, high pitched, scream that would haunt her for years to come.

…

The moon had come and gone as the first rays of sunlight began to spill onto Central Command.

Führer King Bradley stood as he observed the peaceful morning from his large private office. The sound of birds chirping and the scent of the city life pervaded his senses as he calmly slipped at his herbal tea.

He always relished these small moments of solitude, before those bumbling humans would begin shuffling around his Headquarters again.

The King sighed.

Such foolish and imprudent little creatures they were, he mused as he stared impassively out of the window.

A little, brown, songbird suddenly appeared beside the windowsill, chirping to its hearts content. He stared at the creature for a minute as he took another thoughtful sip of his tea.

What a truly insignificant thing life was…

The abrupt slamming of doors cut through the soft silence like a knife as someone rudely invaded his office space. The sudden explosion of noise frightened the little bird as it quickly took off back into the sky and disappeared into the endless blue.

Pride resisted another sigh as he watched it go.

"Envy…and to what do I owe the pleasure?" He questioned indifferently as he watched the visibly annoyed shape shifter from the corner of his unclothed eye. Envy's eyes narrowed as he stalked in uninvited, while Lust and Gluttony trailed in behind him. Pride simple raised an eyebrow at the unusual intrusion.

"Skip the theatrics you damn puppet" Envy scowled as he glared at Pride with distaste. He leaned with his palms braced against the wooden desk.

"Recent multiple child abductions. Heard about them lately?" The sin sneered.

Pride's eyebrow rose even higher.

"Perhaps...Why the sudden interest Envy?" Envy had to bite his tongue from growling out another snide, biting, remark that was perched at the tip of his tongue. Before he could open his mouth however, Lust cut him off.

"He lost his charge, the young human child that has recently become the master's new alchemy pet. We believe that she was abducted by the same group that have been behind the recent child abductions across the country." Pride looked towards her and before chuckling slightly.

"What the hell are _laughing_ about?" Envy hissed as he took a threating step toward the pretend Führer. Bradley smirked.

"Ah yes, that's right how could I forget about the master's new little protégé. What an interesting little creature. Perhaps I should go and see her for myself sometime." He mused as he rubbed his chin in thought.

Now it was Envy's turn to raise an eyebrow.

The Führer's passive façade suddenly disappeared as his expression darkened.

"And yet here you lost her to a bunch of human traffickers, is that correct? Honestly Envy is it so difficult to keep tabs on such a small child that it is simply to much for you?" Quickly losing his temper, Envy created a nice sized crater into the Führer's new, polished, oak, desk. The sturdy wood groaned and cracked underneath his fist.

"I didn't come here for a lecture, from of all things, _you_." He spat as his glared increased ten-fold.

"So you do know who they are" Lust interrupted yet again as she crossed her arms under her ample chest. Pride spared her another glance as he began to move around his damaged office space.

"These kidnappings are a part of a newly formed underground system of human trafficking, they began their regime some six odd months ago. The humans responsible have been at large for quite some time, though only recently have they begun targeting young children as potential products." Pride spoke aloofly. He turned towards Envy.

"Has the Master been informed of this little incident?" Pride looked pointedly at him. Said shape shifter ignored the indirect accusation.

"Where are they?" He spoke as he crossed his arms impatiently. Pride simply smirked condescendingly.

"If had known that Envy, do you still believe they would be at large right now?"

Envy leveled him with a poisoned stare.

"Cut the crap Pride, I know you know something. Or do you not even know what goes on right under your nose? What a pathetic puppet Führer" Pride glared menacingly. His namesake sin flared at the insult.

"Such insolence. Alright, I will tell you want to know, but know this, if you honestly believe that the master will not find out and punish you for your little blunder, you are sorely mistaken." Envy brought a whole now meaning to the phrase 'killer stares' as he glared dangerously at Pride. He was beside himself in rage that this puppet would dare try and sell him out.

"In the downtown district, close to the outskirts of Central, those believed to be linked to the abductions were last reported being sighted."

Envy temporarily postponed his rage as he sneered in triumph.

"Finally something useful comes out of your mouth for once" He spat as he turned to leave. Lust sighed in annoyance as she followed. She patted her chubby companion briefly on top of his bare head.

"Come Gluttony"

Gluttony nodded as he obediently followed the attractive sin as she in turn followed the temperamental shape shifter. Pride watched as they disappeared from his office, presumably towards the false lead he had given them.

King Bradley scoffed.

"All this nonsense for such a foolish and imprudent little creature, how pathetic." King Bradley sighed as picked up his discarded teacup and turned to gaze out the window once more. His tea had gone cold during Envy's recent intrusion and the dawn sky had lightened considerably from the short amount of time that he was distracted.

"Its a wonder how the life of one measly human can be so truly insignificant, and yet, can be so beneficial to the greater scheme of things." Pride mused aloud as continued to gaze impassively out at his capital city.

"I wonder how this little rescue will fair. Hopefully this won't stir up too much trouble…" The King chuckled darkly and took another small sip of chilled herbal tea.

…

The usual hustle and bustle of Central quickly began to escalate as the morning sun rose higher in the azure sky. It was an unusually hot day for such an early spring as hoards of people began to wander the streets. With bleary faces and heavy feet, many of the day's workforce trudged along as their sleepy minds considered nothing but their destination before them and perhaps a cup of coffee along the way. It was a wonder at all that no really took any notice of the crying, filthy, child that pushed in between crowds of hardhearted stares and ran past them.

The little girl huffed and panted as the air rushed past her dirty face and burned her raw throat.

But she didn't dare stop.

She had been running like this for as long as it had been light out. Her bare feet throbbed from running all morning and her body protested from the sudden abuse of her fragile body. Regardless of the pain, for the first time in her life, the little girl felt something greater then her pain that drove her to continue picking up her legs.

It was fear.

But more than just the fear for herself, there was the fear for her the girl whose scream still rang in her ears.

The alchemist.

The immense concern she felt in her heart for her savior and new friend only rose with every step she took as she raced across the city. The child's burning resolve to find help for them both overshadowed the burning in her lungs, legs, and eyes as she ran blindly through the streets.

Suddenly the child crashed hard into something.

She felt arms grab her before she could topple to the ground.

Or someone.

"Whoa! Hey there kid you're sure in a hurry." A cheerful voice spoke with a hint of surprise coloring their tone.

The nameless child glanced up as she watched the stranger she had collided into quickly bend down next to her. A flash of blue alerted her to the stranger's uniform. The next thing she knew she had thrown her arms around him and had started to cry even harder into a warm shoulder.

Maes Hughes blinked in stunned surprise as the child that had suddenly tackled him and began crying into his chest. After a minute he held her out at arm's length and frowned as he observed the shaking and crying child before him.

"Hey now, don't be afraid. It's all right" He soothed to the best of his ability. The sobbing child sniffed and clenched her fists at the man's reassurance.

"N-no its not!" She sobbed as she abruptly grabbed his jacket sleeve. "I need h-help! She is in trouble. I need help!"

Hughes made a sound of surprise in the back of his throat, at a lost for what this little girl was talking about.

"Slow down kid," He instructed with surprising gentleness. "Now, tell me who is in trouble"

The pigtailed girl sniffed and wiped at her tears with the same hand before pointing back the way she had come.

"Please I need help…they kidnapped us" She replied.

Hughes hazel eyes widened in realization and shock. He had been looking into the mysterious country wide kidnapping cases for weeks and here comes along the perfect clue that had just fallen into his lap, ready to bust the whole thing wide open. His eyes suddenly flashed in grim understanding.

"Us? How many more were there with you? Shhh, don't cry. Come on kiddo I need you to think for me." He urged.

Wide, brown, doe-like eyes stared into his soul and he resisted the urge to melt on the spot. This kid was too cute.

"She's still back there, she is still back there with them Mr. they're going to kill her!" The wild child shouted as she struggled, cried, and twisted to point frantically behind her in his arms. Hughes sighed and stuffed the hyperventilating child into his chest as he tried desperately to calm her down. She was making too much of a scene.

Many people had begun to stare at the odd scene of what appeared to be a military officer comforting and holding a distressed street urchin. Hughes frowned at the bewildered and slightly repugnant stares he was receiving. He hummed thoughtfully as they all quickly glanced away and shuffled back towards their own business.

It seemed as if no one had truly paid any mind towards the whimpering child in his arms until she had managed to distract a military personal. Pity.

Maes quickly fixed his glasses as he scooped up the exhausted and frightened little girl to his chest before turning and jogging towards his original destination. The ominous structure of Central Command was a welcome sight for the anxious officer as Hughes as he crept through a private side entrance, being careful to avoid any unwanted stares, and began trekking towards the superior offices upstairs.

Maes chuckled as he ran up the stairs towards Roy's office. No doubt he would be surprised by the earlier than usual visit. After all, he himself liked to draw out his visits with the younger commanding officer into the later hours of the day, when he was just that much more irritated and prone to snapping his fingers. It always made him that much more exciting and funnier to annoy.

Despite the desperate situation he now found himself in Hughes grinned widely as he burst through the door with the little girl in tow.

Oh well, no time like the present.

"Hey Roy look, it's a miracle! I found your long lost daughter!"

…

The familiar stench of pollution and waste clogged the city air of Central's capital as the sun rose higher into the sky. The normally baby blue sky was obscured by a thin sheen of murky brown from the air pollution emanating from the various major factories strewn across the outskirts of Central City's downtown district. Their enormous black silhouettes stood out against the merciless sun beat down upon them.

Despite these unsavory conditions, many factories workers still continued to wander aimlessly with their daily rituals and tasks, as if the nearly toxic atmosphere and sordid living spaces all around them were of little to no consequence. Their sullen faces showed a mixture of different cultures and backgrounds with the majority composed of illegal immigrants, uprooted refugees, and escaped convicts from near and far. They all hurried along, minding their business, and never daring to stare one another in the eye, fearing meddling social interactions, unless already premeditated or preordained.

Thus, it was quite easy for the three darkly dressed figures to slip and slid through the thongs of unseeing citizens, shaded allies, and unguarded rooftops for the most part virtually undetected. They were surprisingly quick, as they seemed to glide effortlessly passed the unobservant humans and almost create phantom images in their wake.

"Pathetic, measly, human scum" A raspy voice scowled superiorly as its owner fought to control their hatred unnoticeably amongst the sea of people.

Under normal circumstances Envy would never voluntarily merge amongst the humans he deemed so pathetically inferior in such close proximity. Then again this wasn't what he considered to be normal circumstances and thus suffered the exception this once.

After two days their trail had gone cold and a steady downpour from the nights prior had washed most traces of the girl's scent away. After an hour of searching for any leads Lust had began arguing with Envy, as he been ready to go back and rip the country's so-called Führer in half for tricking him with a false trial when Gluttony interrupted them both.

"I smell him. I smell the dog man!" He sniffed the air quizzically and then grinned excitedly. Envy and Lust quickly whipped around from their argument and stared at the chubby sin in surprise.

"Find him Gluttony" Lust suddenly commanded. Immediately Gluttony jumped up and pointed over the rooftop they had been on.

"There. He's right there" They now all peered down at the shady man that Gluttony had referred to.

A tall, broad shouldered, human male wearing a large, dark, coat stood at the street corner of a busy market intersection with his arms crossed over his chest. A hat hide the sharp, dark, eyes that watched everything happening around them with an almost predatory gaze as the odd man stood there, slightly blended by the shadows of the alley he stood in.

"Interesting" Lust drawled. "Still scouting for prey"

Envy rolled his eyes.

"This is pathetic", he griped before cracking his knuckles.

"Follow him fatso" He directed at Gluttony nonchalantly. The hungry sin nodded compliantly before jumping off the hotel rooftop and landing soundlessly in a deserted alley next to the building. His two companions followed suit.

"I swear when I find that brat I'm going to break every bone in her body for this" He growled as he silently stalked after the man Gluttony had recognized as the dog scented man from the crime scene. Envy moved swiftly through the streets as he followed after his prey.

Suddenly the man stiffened and stopped. He turned slightly to glance behind him at the crowd swarming around him, as he seemed to analyzing the horde of faces that rushed past him all at once.

Envy eyed him dangerously. If this bastard was doing what he thought he was going to do…

Without any warning the dog-man bolted down the street as fast as he could. Envy watched him go and resisted the urge to roll his eyes again.

So he knew he was being followed already.

This really was pathetic.

Envy casually strolled to the nearest shaded alleyway as he switched forms in a hiss of light and quickly scaled the walls. The green haired homunculus tracked his unsuspecting prey from the rooftops through the slums of the factory district. The cloaked man continued in his mad dash through the better part of the outskirts before ducking into a maze of alleys. Suddenly he skidded to a halt and let out a growl, as a shadowed figure appeared to bar his way. The large moved man surprisingly gracefully as he swiftly dodged and back-flipped the handful of sharp spears that whipped past where he had stood only a second ago.

"My my, your quicker than I expected" A silky voice smirked as Lust stepped out from the shadows. The mystery man smirked as well when he caught sight of the lascivious woman.

"Well, well, who would have expected to have such a beauty following me", He chuckled as he flashed her a predatory grin before dodging another spear.

"That's quite a talent you have there babe" He threw in as an afterthought as he glance with mild curiosity towards the elongated fingers that served as her current weapon of offense.

"You're quite the charmer" Lust mused as she took another swipe at the agile man. "It makes me wonder then why such a chimera as yourself would be working to kidnap little girls off the streets" At this the man's smirk fell as his gaze hardened.

"How do you know about me", He snapped coolly. Suddenly his smirk returned with full force.

"Are you with the military, is that why you chased me down here? Because if it is babe I going to have to rip that pretty face of yours to pieces" He finished with an inhuman snarl as his eyes narrowed further and his face and limbs began to elongate.

Lust continued calmly smirking as she slowly raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Following you, now why would I do that?" She questioned innocently as she stared indifferently at him. He growled further.

"Don't play dumb with me you bitch." He snarled as his arms and hind legs finished expanding to ridiculous proportions and he fell onto all fours.

"Why else would you be here! I only smelled one person chasing me, so who else would be following me other than you!" Lust's continued smirking as she ignored his questions.

"Tell me one more thing chimera. Have you kidnapped a little girl recently, perhaps from around Dublith?" The chimera twitched slightly from the transformation or from remembering something unpleasant Lust couldn't be too sure. Suddenly he growled like a beast and snapped his jaws at the air before opening them again and laughing in a mangled, twisted, voice.

"That brat!" He sneered unpleasantly as he began to rant.

"Oh yes, I know that little demon. Gave me trouble constantly from the moment I grabbed her and smashed her head in back in that alley in Dublith. Damn that little shit, she even helped some other little bitch escape. Blew up the floor with alchemy and everything." He snorted as fur finally began to cover the last of his body and face, finishing his transformation. With that finished the wolf dog hybrid chimera grinned wickedly, his tongue lolling to one side to hang out of his mouth, exposing his glistening canines.

"Now then sweetie, I think we chatted for long enough don't you think?" He laughed as he lunged. Lust sighed as she crossed her arms under her large bosom and smiled secretively.

"I agree, we've wasted enough time. He is all yours Envy."

Before the chimera could even react he felt a flash of a dangerously murderous aura, that far surpassed his own, behind him and he suddenly found himself at the receiving end of a powerful roundhouse kick that had him colliding with a brick wall in something less then a second.

Lust watched as the chimera was sent flying away from her and into the building to her right. Well…Envy certainly wasn't holding back. The crater in the side of the building was a testament to that.

The chimera groaned as he fell to the floor in a heap and then barked in pain as a bare clad foot began slamming down repeatedly onto his chest with all the force of a dozen sledgehammers, effectively crushing many of the chimera's ribs. The chimera grunted as the wind was knocked out of his bleeding lungs as he look up at the figure blocking the entrance to the alleyway.

The violet eyes of his attacker were staring menacingly down at him. The chimera resisted the urge to gulp as his gaze fell on the youth's arm that had broken off from flesh at the middle of the shoulder and had somehow became a solid, black, steel knife. He felt his eyes widened as he broke out in a sweat.

What were these people?!

Envy scowled down at the easily beaten chimera in disgust and irritation.

"How annoying, you're nothing but all bark and no bite." The chimera snarled at the insult but then quieted down as Envy's grounded his foot deeper into the creature's chest. The satisfying sound of bones cracking and a whimper of pain almost made the malicious sin smirk. He leaned down closer to the bloodied pulp under his foot.

"Well, are you going to tell me where they are? Or am I going to beat it out of you?" He added to the later question with another bone shattering kick. The chimera's groaned in pain.

"Its no use…" The wolf dog hybrid answered before coughing up some blood. His breathing had become labored as he fought for air to enter his punctured lungs.

"Its no use" He repeated with an added growl. Envy glared down darkly at the chimera pinned under his foot.

"Why?" He asked irritably as he brought his bladed arm closer, the sunlight glinted ominously off the carbonized metal.

"The other one got away because of that damn brat so the buyers got impatient…"The chimera coughed again, the blood was darker and thicker this time.

"So we substituted with the alchemy brat and it was a hit. She was sold off to the highest bidder."

Envy was silent for a brief moment as he registered the information. Suddenly he lunged and an earsplitting howl of pain rang out into the alley as he imbedded his arm deeply in the chimera's massive shoulder.

"You. Sold. Her." He spoke murderously, puncturing every word with a stab. The chimera's screams turned to gurgles as more blood flowed from his mouth.

"Please…" He trailed off as he chocked on his own blood.

"Who?" He hissed dementedly as he loomed over his dying captive. His eyes nearly glowed with frustration and were glazed with bloodlust; the chimera's dark eyes suddenly widened in terror as he realized he knocking on death's door.

"I-I don't know. We never met the buyer; we don't get any contacts or names. They come in a dark room, get some one to pay for them, and then we give them the kid and t-that's it! I swear-"

The chimera's words died on his lips as the sword was imbedded into his skull. Blood gushed and spurted from the clean slice in the center of the creature's forehead as its head fell backwards.

The sound of bones breaking and the hiss of burning fur waffled through the stagnate air as the dead chimera's massive furry body suddenly contorted and shifted back into its original human form.

Envy sighed.

"Well that was disappointing." He grumbled as he stood and shifted his armed knife to normal. He the telltale click of heels as Lust came up behind him.

"What a waste. All the information and for nothing" She huffed as she glance down at the mutilated chimera's corpse.

She watched Envy from the corner of her eye. He had crossed his arms and appeared to be thinking, while vehemently glaring at the mangled body before him. Though his expression was guarded the expression in his violet gaze made it obvious that he was mulling something over in his mind. Lust raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity.

"What will you do now Envy?" She asked nonchalantly as she inspected her long, sharp, nails.

Envy said nothing as he continued scowling at the corpse, occasionally kicking it with brutal ferocity. He acted as if he hadn't heard her question.

Lust sighed slightly in exasperation before turning to leave.

"Isn't it obvious…" The sudden offhand statement from him made Lust stop and turn her head slightly to look at the oddly calm figure. A coy smirk flittered across her alluring features as she studied him, though it was gone as fast as it had appeared.

"Of course, its obvious that you plan on killing them all regardless" She stated as if it were the most predictable concept imaginable.

Deep green, almost black, hair parted even so slightly to reveal a devilish grin that bared all of his shark-like canines in a twisted rendition of a wide smile, and violet psychopathic orbs were aglow with sick glee, that would have terrorized even the most intimidating of men and sent them screaming to their insanity. Bloodthirsty violet pupils met darkly amused maroon, and Envy's grin widened as he held Lust's unwavering gaze.

"Oh no, no, no. Not just killing, _butchering, slaughtering, exterminating- _"

He chuckled good-naturedly and shook his head as if he had told the funniest joke he knew. Lust continued to maintain her cool composer as she watched the eldest homunculus's bizarre actions, though she was inwardly startled. She couldn't seem to remember a time when Envy had become so dangerously bloodthirsty that he had began to act giddy. It was actually quite horrifying.

Though Lust considered the homunculi to be the ultimate predators in every sense of the word, she included, it was still impossible for her to ignore the almost overpowering and treacherous predatory aura that Envy had begun to emanate.

Lust shook herself as broke eye contact and began walking away, leaving the older being to himself for now.

"We will be waiting for you in the underground city when you are finished with your little tirade" She called back apathetically. The sounds of her polished heels clicking on cobblestones and Gluttony's heavy footfalls were the only sounds the greeted her ears when she received no response in reply. Lust gave no indication of repeating herself, knowing that the unstable sin had heard her clearly enough as she left the already deserted alleyway.

As she walked through the still crowded slums Lust couldn't help but wonder what had possibly pushed Envy into such a fit of rage.

She frowned as she mused on his recent fighting style.

No insults, no taunting, no mocking composed demeanor, just a clipped conversation, cold fury, and a quick and brutal punishment.

'_How very unlike him'_ She mused silently as she wove herself through the crowd of humans without effort with Gluttony trailed loyally behind her.

Still, he had been angered many times before, whether from insult, injury, or punishments from the master, and he had rarely reacted as he just had. It left the female sin to ponder.

'_It couldn't possibly be from expecting an insulting punishment from the master, after all that's what this whole ordeal was to begin with. Does he really believe that the master would erase him completely if he should fail this ridiculous task? No, he is too valuable of an asset, as well as being her right hand informer. Was this about his ridiculous pride again? Perhaps, but its highly doubtful he would react that strongly to something he experiences so frequently. So what was it then?'_ Lust couldn't fathom it, as she talked herself in circles.

Suddenly a thought jumped out at her that was so inexplicability absurd that it made her pause in midstride as she unconsciously contemplated its credibility. Gluttony looked up as his beloved partner suddenly came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street. He came up behind her and worriedly tugged on her emerald dress after a moments pause. This seemed to snap the female homunculus out of her stupor as she pulled away from Gluttony's grasp on her skirt and continued walking towards their destination.

No. That was the only word for it. Just no. It was grossly impossible and so ridiculous that Lust wondered why on earth she had even contemplated it for being the reason behind Envy's odd behavior.

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as the previous suspicion still lingered before huffing in irritation.

This mild curiosity was pointless and would get her nowhere, and she knew it. Thinking about it only caused her to have an unwanted headache.

It was, and always would be, beyond her what the envious sin's true motives where for his constantly bizarre actions. She would just have to leave it be for now.

Even she knew her limits and when it was best not to not provoke him. After all, next to Pride, Envy was the strongest of the homunculi, angering him too much would not be pleasant for her.

The sound of thunder suddenly rocketed through the air and brought Lust crashing back to earth again as she tore herself from her pointless thoughts. She gently swiveled her body towards the source of the noise, her long raven locks following her, and was hardly surprised at finding an enormous dust cloud, not to far from them, rising from the heart of the slums.

"It seems Pride finally took some action." She mused as she crossed her arms under her large chest and watched along side Gluttony as various humans began running frantically in different directions, like spooked livestock.

Lust smirked cruelly as she gazed nonchalantly at the scene unfolding a few blocks away before turning back to her original destination, patting Gluttony on top of his head as she did so.

"Let's go Gluttony. Master is waiting."

…

The stench of blood, metal bullets, and gunpowder were the first things that pervaded Lt. ColonelRoy Mustang's sense of smell as he step into the wreckage of the dilapidated abandoned warehouse. He held his gloved hand over his mouth as he struggled to breathe through the nearly blinding dust cloud.

"Damn it Hughes I thought you said this was the place" Mustang coughed as he swatted away at the dust. A dark outline suddenly appeared behind him.

"Without a doubt Roy, I traced that little girl's steps back to here so don't worry about it." Maes Hughes coughed as he swatted at the air as well.

"I hope you right." Roy grumbled under his breath as he stepped further into the building. "Or else this entire emergency rescue mission will be coming out of my paycheck."

"Or you'll rank. But hey what do I know?" Hughes laughed while giving his younger friend a thumbs up. Mustang glared darkly at him as his fingers began to twitch dangerously.

"Like I said Hughes, you better be right about this" He growled out angrily.

"Of course I am Roy my boy! Now, lets hurry up and find that missing girl." Hughes smiled briefly before nodding in all seriousness towards his friend as he raised his throwing knives and took off down the hallways. Mustang followed behind him begrudgingly.

The duo ran down many different halls and rooms in their search, oddly finding nothing but random blood splatters along the walls.

"She had said they where being held in the basement right?" Mustang questioned as he ran next to Hughes.

"Ya it was the basement but..." Hughes paused as he began to slow down into a brisk walk.

"But what?" Mustang wondered as he matched his friend's slower stride.

"Don't you think its odd that we haven't found any of the kidnappers yet? I mean if this was the their main base of operations wouldn't we have caught someone here on the inside yet?" Hughes pondered aloud as he strolled through the darken tunnels.

"We already captured the men that were guarding this place outside with the rest of the troops, and they already gave us the whereabouts least of a dozen of the missing children when we 'questioned' them…" At this Mustang smirked at Hughes emphasis on the word 'questioning'. Knowing his friend the interrogation would probably have involved a dark room, a dartboard, his classic push knifes, a perhaps torturing them with pictures of him and his wife again. After seeing the glimmer in his friend's eye Mustang figured he probably had it close to the truth.

"…So we know now that this was at least one of their hideouts. Maybe they turned tail and fled when that little girl got loose. They were probably afraid of this very outcome" The wheels in his head where turning as Hughes's glasses flashed under the flickering lights.

Mustang dropped the smirk and frowned thoughtfully as he kept looking on straight ahead for any incoming danger.

"Perhaps the guards outside were a decoy for something then?" Roy ventured as he cautiously crept around a corner, trigger fingers at the ready.

"What would be the point? If they had all escaped before we got here then there would be no need for the guards outside, if anything they would draw suspicion to their former base rather then leaving it be as under the guise of an old abandoned factory workhouse."

"You're right that would be highly suspicious, especially with the amount of illegal firepower they were carrying" Mustang smirked.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. Man, that flame alchemy of yours is real convenient. Turned those bullets to ash before they even touched us and scorched those guys' hands so badly that I'll surprised if they can ever hold up a spoon again." Maes laughed as he pulled open another door and peered inside.

"They pulled out their guns, I pulled out my gloves. It was simple retaliation." Mustang rolled his eyes and he crossed his arms as his partner continued to giggle.

"You don't realize how funny that sounds," Hughes laughed teasingly.

"Shut up" Mustang growled as a vein in his forehead began twitching.

Suddenly Hughes ceased his chuckling and Roy stiffened in alert. He turned and glanced over Hughes's hunched shoulder to see a dark, rickety, staircase leading down into an endless black void. Hughes stood up as he gripped the door handle and took a deep breath.

"I take it that's it then?" Mustang mused as he stared at the darkened basement below.

"Yep" Hughes responded causally. "Hey Roy my Boy, you wouldn't happen to have a lighter would you? After all you are a human lighter." Mustang sighed in irritation as he picked up a large piece of what was once a wooden door and lit it fire. He led the way as they began their descent into the darkness. The shuddering wood below them gave out a loud groan and a few shrieks in protest of the added weight. Roy gritted his teeth as he carefully ambled down the creaking steps.

'_If anyone was down here they would have heard us by now'_ He thought as he strained his ears, listening for any little sound that could warn him of possible danger. He could hear nothing but Hughes taunt breathing behind him and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, but otherwise not a creature stirred from the darkness. Finally they reached the bottom and cautiously began their search.

After another moment of still silence Hughes sighed.

"There's no one down here either" He remarked somewhat bothered. Hughes squinted into the darkness before frowning.

"Hey you smell that?" Mustang sniffed the stall, musky, air before scrunching his nose at the faint but unmistakable metallic scent.

"Yes" It was blood, and lots of it.

This time it was Mustang's turn to frown thoughtfully. There something else besides the coppery scent of blood that smelled strong.

"Wet dog?" He puzzled under his breath as Hughes suddenly called him over.

"Yo Roy, come look at this" His voice echoed around the desolate room as he stood over something large. Roy raised an eyebrow as he observed the crater of rubble before him. It looked as an explosion had happened and caused the floor to give out and drop into the sewers before another explosion had destroyed the same entrance.

"You called me over here to look at a pile of rubble?" He questioned coolly as he looked disbelievingly at his comrade. Hughes waved away his friend's comment as he sighed dramatically.

"No, no, no. Look down, at the edges of the hole" He instructed.

Roy felt his eyes widened as he did as he was told. The flame commander dropped to one knee as he examined the remnants of the ruined circle.

"Alchemy…" Mustang muttered as he traced the smeared circle before him before rubbing the substance between his fingers. His gloved fingers came away stained in red.

"And made in blood too" He mused as Hughes leaned over his shoulder. Maes let out a low whistle.

"Wow, you don't see that every day. Do you really think that kid the little girl was talking about did this?" Mustang slowly stood as brushed the dust from his uniform.

"I'm not sure Hughes. But one I do know is that the situation must have been pretty desperate for a little kid to have to resort to something like this." He gestured to the blackened, charred, patches on the ground and the large claw marks along the walls. Hughes strolled casually over to the wall and ran his finger over the markings.

"What ever made this must have been pretty big. But why would national kidnappers have big animals lying around? " He trialed off thoughtfully before glancing back pointedly at his friend.

"They wouldn't. It would only be a hindrance not to mention completely unnecessary." Dark eyes analyzed the large gash marks along the brick walls curiously.

"If not an animal then something close to it made those markings…you already have guessed it haven't you?" The latter accusation was directed towards the smirking, dark haired, detective in the corner.

"Yep!" He agreed too cheerfully for the somber expression in his hazel eyes. Mustang resisted rolling his eyes at Hughes antics.

"But why would kidnappers have a chimera running around with them, let alone where did they find it and what were they using it for? Dogs work just as well, so why a chimera?" Mustang sighed before rubbing his eyes tiredly. "This only leaves us with more questions then answers." He growled angrily as he threw his torch to the ground. It hit the ground with a hiss before rolling a few feet away.

Hughes nodded as he watched his friend grit his teeth in frustration. He stopped to fix his glasses momentarily before pushing off the wall and striding towards Mustang.

"You can't save them all Roy. We may not know just what the hell happened down here, but one things for sure, that little girl is gone and so are her kidnappers." He spoke grimly as he put a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "There is nothing else we can do down here, so lets go back up and question the ones we did managed to catch. Maybe they know something-" Hughes cut himself off. Mild confusion swept over his face as Roy glanced up to see Maes staring off into the distance behind him.

"Hughes…Hughes?!" Mustang shouted his name after a moment of uncanny silence from the normally unfazed officer. The grip on his shoulder tightened, almost painfully, as he heard Hughes swallow hard.

"Hey Roy…stir this place up a bit. I think we could use some more light" Hughes joked with an anxious look in his eye.

Roy turned slowly to face in the same direction as his troubled friend. He stared into the darkness briefly as he tried to make out what had bothered Maes so much that he would ask him to torch the place.

"Sure thing…"

The firelight from their previous torch sputtered and gave out one last dying hiss as it died and extinguished the only light source in the blackened basement.

A soft 'snap' echoed around the room as a fireball suddenly illuminated the room for a few brief seconds before plunging it back into darkness. With another snap of his fingers the flame alchemist lit up a few otherwise empty crates he ad seen prior and ignited the room.

Disfigured and mutilated bodies suddenly littered the ground before them in a massive pile that had been pushed against a blood soaked wall. Many had been sliced to pieces or had various appendages torn off while others had been craved into with brutal ferocity, leaving their glistening innards exposed to the world.

The two commanding officers could only stare in shock at the gruesome scene that had been hiding in the shadows right in front of them the whole time.

"This is…"

Time seemed to stop for Mustang and Hughes as they tried to fathom what kind monster could have done such a thing.

"…Do you think it was the chimera?" Mustang spoke, feeling somewhat disturbed as brutal memories of the hordes brutalized corpses from the Ishvalan civil war tried to claw their way to the forefront of his mind.

"No. Look at the wounds, they're too clean and cut, and there are no bite or claw marks on any of them" Hughes looked ill as he moved closer to the bodies and bent over to examine one.

"Besides, what kind of animal could sneak past the guards, butcher all of these men without alerting somebody, and instead of just killing and eating their prey where they found it, leave the bodies in a nice neat little pile? A regular chimera couldn't have done this, but whoever did, wanted us to find these bodies." He turned to his partner grimly.

"So what now, we still have a possible child prodigy missing, a possible chimera running around loose, and a potential serial killer thrown into the mix. Just what the hell is going on here Hughes?!" Mustang snapped frustrated.

"Hell if I know Roy, but I think we just stepped into something far bigger than a simple kidnapping case." Hughes slowly shook his head as he stood up.

Mustang sighed before turning towards the steps.

"Alright let's go back up, there is nothing else down here for us then."

"Oh I wouldn't be to sure about that" The flame colonel sent the head detective a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you should char these bodies Roy. Burn them till there is barely anything left" Hughes spoke seriously as he finally pocketed his knifes. Mustang gaped disbelievingly at his friend. Maes paid this no mind as he turned back and gestured to the bloody pile of corpses.

"It would only cause more panic if it were discovered that a serial killer had done away with a few people, criminals or not, a mutated monster and that not all of the children have been found."

"So you're telling me to ignore the fact that there _is_ a deranged psycho killer, a child alchemist that's critically injured, and possibly a chimera, all out on the same streets."

"No, I'm not telling you to ignore anything. I'm simply telling you to put this under wraps for a while. If news of this gets out then things will get more hairy and cause mass hysteria in the public. Not to mention it will be a lot harder to find you're killers if they read in the newspapers that you are looking for them." Mustang said nothing for a long moment as he stared at him with a calculating look in his dark eyes.

"And what excuse would I use for turning these bodies into a crisp?"

"Self-defense man. I mean they were criminals and they had the weapons to prove it." He responded as he kicked the bullet shells strewed around his feet for emphasis. "Plus you're a national war hero, a state alchemist, and a Colonel on top of that, so none of the small fries in the military are going to even try and question you or your authority." Hughes smirked knowingly as he waved a teasing finger in Roy's direction. Roy couldn't resist the small prideful smirk that wormed itself onto his face.

"Always trying to help me get to the top I see." Mustang chuckled knowingly as he readied himself.

"Alright then" He spoke with a feverish fervor in his voice as small sparks of flames began to dance around his fingertips. An instant later the mound of carcasses were lit ablaze in a fiery inferno. The two men held their breath as the overpowering scent of ozone and burned flesh clashed together in the sudden rush of air that resulted from the closely concentrated blast. After a moment of sweltering heat the fire was extinguished, leaving nothing but charred teeth and blackened ash behind.

"Burned the bones to ash, impressive job. " Hughes nodded in grim satisfaction. Mustang smirked darkly as he stared at the all too familiar scene.

"I had plenty of time to practice" He bit out as he turned sharply from the ash pile and strolled back up the stairs. Hughes sighed as he watched him go. He paused and turned slightly to give one long last parting glance at the smoldering ashes and bloody basement.

"Lieutenant Hughes, are you coming!" Mustang shouted.

"Yes" He called back halfheartedly as he came back up the staircase. Roy gave him an odd look.

"You look like you have something on you're mind. Having second thoughts about letting me burn those bodies" Mustang spoke suspiciously.

"No, it's not that. I just hoping that little girl will be alright…"

He spoke gravely. Mustang frowned again as he stalked off without another word.

Hughes sighed in vexation once more before leaving to follow his silently sulking friend back to Headquarters.

* * *

Sigh.

Guess I have to keep splitting this episode up even _more. _But in my defense, I felt so guilty for just letting this story hang in my doc. folder for so long when it was finished up to this point alright.

Don't worry though for all the lovely readers I haven't lost yet, more is coming. I actually have the next, I wanna say, five chapters planned out nicely. Now I just got to flush out the plot and add more details.

Again, thank you for reading my story. Your reviews, thoughts, comments, and critiques are welcome with open arms. Thank you all again for those that have already reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. It makes my days so worth while.

-Sincerely, Mara Gin


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